


Destiny's Road

by ladyamesindy



Series: ShepShep - John and Jane  Shepard [6]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-01-16 08:03:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 40
Words: 144,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1338073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyamesindy/pseuds/ladyamesindy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.”<br/>Jean de La Fontaine</p><p>John and Jane Shepard's destinies became intertwined in basic training.  Since that time they have shared many a twist and turn, but will they be prepared for what is to come?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks to scarletthalloran who helped me with the banner for my story!!!!

 

_“A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.”  Jean de La Fontaine_

 

The _Normandy_ was docked at Arcturus, taking on final provisions for the upcoming shake down cruise and waiting on the final members of the crew to arrive.  Everyone boarding here had reported in so far … everyone except ….

“Any sign of her yet?”

John stood leaning against a stack of crates waiting for boarding in the shuttle bay; arms folded across his chest, but eyes focused on the doors at the far end of the platform.  Patience was not one of his best virtues.  “Not yet,” he replied.

The hand that landed on his shoulder, clapping it firmly but companionably wasn’t unexpected.  Neither was the deep rumbling chuckle that accompanied it.   _Go ahead and laugh it up, Anderson.  This was all your doing anyway._  “Well, she’ll be here, son.  No need to worry.”

John sighed.  He wasn’t worried … not really, anyway.  He’d been out on the tail end of a three month cruise when his orders had come through.  Arrival at Arcturus had come a week sooner than originally scheduled as a result.  Hell, he’d even had time to not only tour the ship thoroughly, but get his own hands to work in the engineering section to better understand how this new stealth system worked.   _She,_ on the other hand, was still out on an N7 mission.  Had been for three weeks now.  Out of contact.  Working solo.   _Out of contact ..._

John sighed again.  He knew better than to worry about her.  Really, he did.  After all, she was N7 trained, like he was.  They’d gone through basic together.  ‘Seen it all’ as raw recruits and still decided to hang around one another.  They knew each others ups, downs, ins, outs - all of it.  Elysium had simply been the icing on the cake, so to speak, and setting their career paths for life.  Their combined achievements there had been one of those ‘right place, right time’ sort of moments.   _And a hell of a memory_.  

“How much longer do we wait, sir?” a new voice asked.  

John glanced to his left, eyeing his companion.  Alenko was a good guy and all, and a hell of a soldier.   He’d only known one other biotic who might rival the Lieutenant for control and skill by comparison.  But when it came to going ‘by the book,’ John wondered if Alenko didn’t take things just a bit too strictly at times.  

“We wait until she is here,” Anderson announced.  “I have confirmation she was retrieved and is en route.  She is one of the most important elements to this mission - we do not leave without her.”

“Yes, sir.”

John’s eyes darted back to face the older man’s.   _That_ was something Anderson had failed to mention before now.  “Oh?”  He tried to sound casual about it, but knew he failed when Anderson chuckled.  

“You’ll find out about it soon enough.”

Grunting softly, John turned his eyes back upon the door ….

“Ten hut!”

Alenko’s command had John shifting immediately to attention.   _Occupational hazard_.  Blue eyes met green as his arm rose in salute.  Anderson stepped forward, his arm rising in salute as well.  Hers followed suit.  “Permission to come aboard, sir?”

John groaned internally as the voice washed over him.  Familiarity reclaimed him in ways he had forgotten, _always_ forgot when they were apart for any length of time.  

“Permission granted,” Anderson replied.  He then lowered his hand to take hers and shake it.  “Welcome aboard, Commander.”

There was a quirkiness to her smile, a small tilt that always seemed to be there - that corner with the scars she’d received on Elysium.  But oh man, was it familiar.  John took a step towards them.

“Thank you, sir,” she replied.  Her eyes then shifted to meet his again.  He thought he saw the smile widen as well as reach the green depths.  

“Permission to kiss my wife, sir?” John asked as evenly as possible.  And, though he kept his eyes locked onto hers, he saw her brow tilt in surprise.  He could no longer hide a grin from her.  Yeah, he was feeling better already.  

Anderson’s laughter reverberated around them.  “Don’t you think you should be asking her that?” he cautioned.  “Come on, Lieutenant.  I think perhaps we ought to leave these two alone for a few minutes.”

Alenko saluted the Commander smartly while replying to Anderson, “Yes, sir.”  

When they were alone, John closed the final step between them, his hands coming to rest at her hips.  “Commander Shepard,” he murmured before leaning down towards her.

Her soft chuckle was one of the best sounds he had heard in a long while.  “Commander Shepard,” she returned, the amusement still there as her hands mimicked his.  

 

~0~

 

Jane allowed her duffle to slide from her shoulder before her husband pulled her closer for a kiss.  It was brief and relatively chaste considering it was him, but that didn’t take any of the sweetness of it away.  Sighing softly, she leaned her head against his shoulder afterwards for a brief moment.  Six months had been a hell of a separation this time.

“Rough day at work?”

She snorted softly, lifting her head to meet his look after he asked.  This was always his first question for her.  Probably because she always looked as if she’d just gone ten rounds with a thresher maw when returning from an assignment.  “Something like that,” she replied.  “Better now, though.”

He grabbed her bag then and she followed him to the airlock where they both went through decontamination procedures.  “What’s our status?” she asked as they boarded.

“Ready to go,” he told her.  “We were just waiting on your arrival.”  

He led her through the CIC and down the stairs to the crew deck below.  While he stowed her bag in a locker, she took note and glanced around.  So far, she was liking what she was seeing of this new prototype warship.  John had shot her over all the details Anderson had given him and she’d read them during her extraction flight.  But there was a huge difference between words and specs and the reality before her now.  Jane couldn’t help but smile.  John had added additional notes as well - she knew he couldn’t help himself, that engineering mentality and all, but at least she could understand it.

“Who’s the doc on board?” Jane asked after a moment.  

“Dr. Karin Chakwas.  Mostly served aboard ships, from what she told me,” John replied.  “She came over with Anderson.”

Jane nodded.  “Name sounds familiar.  Probably heard him talk about her.”  She tucked the last of her belongings into the locker before he closed it.  “And the Lieutenant?” she asked, recalling the dark haired man who had been standing with him outside.

“Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko,” John announced.  “Was with me aboard the _Cairo_ before Anderson brought us over here.  You’ll like him - he’s like you.”

Jane quirked an eyebrow.  “Like me?”

“Biotic tech-head.”

Jane snickered as they began walking towards the elevator.  “There you go again,” she teased, “assigning me labels.”

He flashed her a charming grin.  “Thought I was doing pretty good with that, personally,” he told her as the door shut and they began to descend.  “Wife was a good one.”

“Husband is even better,” she quipped back.

Following him through the ship, Jane took note of the different sections and the faces assigned to each.  By the time they reached the bridge, she had made a mental note to return to engineering at some point to question Adams regarding the ship’s drive core and the new stealth system and run into the resident turian on board at least three times.  Though she knew nothing about their pilot, Jane took John’s word that, despite his personality, he was one of the best.  

“Alright, Joker,” Anderson’s voice broke in over the comms as he set their destination via the galaxy map, “let’s head out.”

“Got it, sir,” the pilot replied and moments later, they were moving.  

Jane glanced up at John and grinned.  She wasn’t certain why the two of them had been pulled onto this ship by Anderson - it was far from standard procedure - but she was excited about the ship and what she knew of their mission.  Plus, this would be the first time she and John had actually served together since the incident on Elysium and before that, their first cruise after basic.  Fate, she knew, had been kind to them in all things so far, and she had no reasons to doubt that it would change anytime soon.  

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two of my Male Shepard/Female Shepard (husband/wife) pairing. Also a small tribute to Monty Python below. Enjoy!

  


_“Hey.”_

_She looked up and he found green eyes wide and lost, red hair the only vibrant thing at the moment.  Each and every freckle that ran across her nose seemed dull against paler than usual skin.  “Hey.”  Even her voice sounded diminished by comparison to its usual brightness._

_He hesitated, uncertain what to say next.  She was one of the few minors on board who was near his age, only a year behind him in school; a ‘friend’ as well as a classmate._

_Booted feet came rushing down the hall in a hurry, and instinct had him grasping her hand, tugging her to the side out of harm’s way as the squad of marines hurried past towards the shuttle bay._

_“I’m sorry.”_

_The words seemed almost … hollow.  Certainly flat.  He wasn’t sure if she would hear that they had meaning, though.  It was so hard for him to judge right now.  How was one supposed to react in a situation like hers?  “Gee, I’m sorry your mom bought it.  I’m sorry they’re shipping you back to Earth to live with a grandmother you don’t really know.  I wish you could stay here, with me and my folks.  You’re the best thing to come along in a long time and I don’t want to lose that ….”_

_But none of that seemed to fit, and so he relied on the apology instead.  He watched her face closely after and saw her fighting.  Herself, he guessed … but she was fighting at least.  His dad had said her mom went down fighting, so that was good.  Right?_

_“Thanks.”_

_Her voice sounded flat too.  Like she didn’t want to go.  Like she wanted her mom back.  She’d already lost her dad when she was eight - some incident aboard a different ship, but he’d managed to keep it from spreading while everyone else on board had evacuated.  She hadn’t talked about him much either._

_A figure came walking towards them.  “Jane?  It’s time.”_

_He reached out and hugged her, tucking a small device into her hand.  “Chat program,” he murmured near her ear.  “For your ‘tool.  Install it, bring it up and it will connect only to me.  Whenever you want.”  He gave her what he hoped was a comforting smile.  “Or not.”_

_And for the first time in days, since the news that arrived shattering her world and, subsequently, his, she smiled.  It wasn’t complete - he hadn’t expected that - and it didn’t quite reach her eyes and push out the sorrow, but it was something at least.  She hefted her duffle bag over her shoulder and turned away, but not without leaning over to hug him back.  Pocketing the device, she murmured, “Thanks,” then turned and left._

  


~0~

  


Waiting.  Damn, he hated it.  Never been good at it.  Drove everyone nuts whenever they had to run a ship’s diagnostic or reinstall programs or anything along those lines because he just couldn’t sit still.  Probably was the main reason he hadn’t chosen a career path that would keep him aboard ships and instead picked up a gun.  He needed to be moving.  Involved.   _Doing_ something.

But for the moment, he was parked outside the doors to the med bay, waiting.  Arms crossed, scowl across his face, the only movement coming from the pacing he was doing.  Anderson had tried to talk him down after offering reassurances, but John wasn’t buying it.  Even Williams had offered to keep watch to allow him a chance to go and beat it out of his system in the small gym below decks, but again John had refused.  

No.  Like last time, he was going to be here.  Waiting.  Only, he wondered who would catch him when _he_ was the one to fall?  

Life as an Alliance marine brought along with it a certain level of acceptance.  Growing up on ships when your parents served taught one this from a very young age.  Among these was the general idea that, in the heat of battle especially, anything could happen and often did, and that anyone from the buddy beside you to your CO could get hit or even killed.  

Acceptance of this had been a part of his life from the first breath he had taken as a child and over the years it had been reinforced time and again.  With a mother serving as navigator and a father leading ground teams, he had grown up facing life and death on a daily basis.  From the moment he’d enlisted at age eighteen, he had faced his own fair share of close calls and near misses.  Twice before he had lost friends and squadmates to enemy fire.  The one exception to this rule that he had constantly refused to face, even theoretically, as he moved up in rank and life was that of all possible people that could be taken down in battle, it would end up being the one he cared most about: his wife.

The door to the med bay slid open, catching his attention and that of Williams who was still standing nearby.  When Alenko stepped out, John turned towards him, expectant.  “Well?”

The Lieutenant shrugged.  “Too soon to tell, really,” he offered.  “Dr. Chakwas has done what she can.  It _looks_ good so far, but she is still unconscious.”

“Any idea what happened?” Williams asked, stepping over to join them.

Alenko shook his head and rubbed at the back of his neck with his hand.  “Doc agrees it had to have been some sort of communications device, but how exactly neither of us knows.  She says the Commander’s been exhibiting signs of intense … dreaming ever since.  Her beta waves are off the charts.”

John glanced beyond Alenko.  “Can I go in?” he asked.

Alenko nodded.  “Doc says you can sit with her for a while, sir.  There’s not much more she can do until the Commander wakes up, anyway.”

“Or, we get to the Citadel,” Williams added.

Alenko nodded.  “Or that,” he agreed.

John entered the med bay and crossed to the far side where he could see Jane lying on one of the beds; eyes closed, body so still she could have passed for dead.  Chakwas nodded as he approached, murmuring something about how Jane would be fine.  Most of what she said, though, went in one ear and out the other as he moved beside her and took her hand in his.  He tried to ignore how cold and lifeless it felt as he sat there.

  


~0~

  


Reality was slow to return, but as it did Jane took comfort in the fact that the first voice she heard was a familiar one.   _John._  Blinking back the grogginess, she pushed herself upright and looked around.  Lips curving as she spotted him, moving in front of her, she tilted her head slightly so she could look up at him.  “Well, _that_ didn’t go as planned … did it?”

She almost laughed at the look of complete and utter disbelief he gave her.  Clearly, he had forgotten her quirky sense of humor.  But he soon smiled, and she relaxed.  That was a start, at least.  “So,” she tried again, sliding off the medical table and onto the floor, “what did I miss?”

His hands rose to her shoulders and held her in place before him.  “That’s kind of what we’re hoping you can tell us,” he replied.  “Doc says you’re okay, but … how do you feel?”

Dr. Chakwas snorted softly from across the room.  “I believe my words were, ‘She should be all right,’ but I did also warn you that I wouldn’t know more until I’d had a chance to speak with her.”

Jane chuckled softly as he scowled.  Lifting a hand, she rested it on his arm, patting it absently.  “Been hounding the doc, have you?” she asked, giving him a knowing grin.

“Maybe,” he admitted.  

The door whooshed open and shut behind them, but Jane chose to ignore it for now.  “My favorite worrywart.  And, you never did answer my question,” she reminded him.  

“I could say the same for you,” he replied.  “What the hell happened down there?  Williams said one minute you’re coordinating with Joker for pickup of the beacon and the next …?”

Jane sighed, then grimaced.  Her head was still on the throbbing side of things.  “The beacon … well, it started glowing.  Caught Williams up in some sort of … I don’t know, energy field of some kind?”  She closed her eyes as she easily recalled the events.  “I ran over, grabbed her and threw her free, but ended up getting caught in the field myself.  You and Alenko were still on your way to the rendezvous, I think.”

He nodded.  “Yeah.  We came across some farmers who had taken refuge in one of those prefabs out near the dig site,” he explained.  “Slowed us down a bit.”

Jane sighed and moved a hand to rub at her face while he stepped back and gave her space to move.  “Nihlus is dead,” she informed him.

“So Williams said,” he told her.  “Anderson’s been briefed.  Has us headed for the Citadel.”

“Yeah.  And just like that, I blow the biggest chance of my career,” she muttered.

“What was that?”

Jane began stretching, her shoulder was on the stiff side, probably from the inevitable tumble she had taken after the beacon disengaged.  She recalled being lifted by it, but not coming down after ….  “I was being evaluated for a spectre position,” she told him.  “I only just found out before the mission myself,” she added when he looked hurt, presumably because she hadn’t told him about it.  “Apparently, that’s why I kept bumping into Nihlus every time I turned around.”

She saw his lips press together tightly.  “Wow.  Spectre, huh?”  

Nodding, she replied, “That’s what Nihlus and Anderson said.  Seems like a moot point now, though.”

“I wouldn’t say that, exactly, Commander.”

Both John and Jane turned towards the front of the med bay as Anderson walked over and joined them.  “Though admittedly, it doesn’t look good.”

Jane straightened and saluted.  “Yes, sir.”  

  


~ 0 ~

  


Jane stood before the Council, her husband to one side, Anderson to the other and Udina before them, pleading their case.  However, Saren’s holographic presence appeared to be enough to sway the Council to believing his side of the story.  They might claim that the Eden Prime teams didn’t have any compelling ‘proof’ to show that Saren had turned traitor, but where was Saren’s proof that he hadn’t?  Why wasn’t he here in person to defend himself?  

Jane sighed and tried to keep her eyes from rolling.  No doubt the Council’s argument would be, _The burden of proof is on the accusing party, not the defense._   And the testimony of a ‘traumatized dockworker’ clearly wasn’t proof enough.

She ignored the arguing going on around her, though she did notice that John was quick to jump in on her count.  That at least gave her reason for a smile.  Always willing to jump to her defense.  Some things never changed, it seemed.  Behind her, she could hear Kaidan and Ashley murmuring soft asides between them, but they were hardly loud enough for her to hear.  Not with the Council and Saren both breaking in over Udina, Anderson and John.  It was all beginning to give her one Council-sized headache ….

… until she heard Saren calling _HER_  out, publicly berating her ineptitude at the handling of the Eden Prime mission.  That resulted in Udina nearly having a coronary as he protested.  Eyes darting upwards, Jane found herself glaring at the holographic image of the turian Spectre.   _If that’s the way you want to play it, friend_ , she thought, _then by all means … game on._

It took a few minutes for the asari councilor to calm things back down and bring the session to a close, but the end result was definitive: Saren would remain a Council Spectre as there was no proof that he had gone renegade.  

“Well, _that_ went well,” she heard John mutter as they left the Council chamber with Anderson and Udina.  

“I should never have brought you in there, Captain,” Udina grumbled.  “Not only did the mission on Eden Prime put Shepard’s candidacy in danger, but your past history with Saren will now make them question our motives.”

Finally fed up with it all, Jane stepped forward.  “I’ve done nothing wrong,” she reminded them.  “What happened on Eden Prime wasn’t our doing - we know that.  If we know that, then there must be others out there who know it too.  Some proof of it out there we can find and use to our advantage.”

“What about that C-Sec investigator?” Alenko asked, stepping forward.  “When we talked with him on the way in, he seemed to think there were still other avenues to follow in his investigation.”

“Maybe we could convince him to pick it up again,” Williams jumped in.  “ _IF_ we can find him.”

“I have a contact in C-Sec,” Udina announced.  “He can tell you where to find this investigator - Officer Garrus Vakarian is his name.  Go to _Chora’s Den_ and look for Harking.  He’s usually there, this time of day.”  

Jane did not miss the eye roll that Anderson gave, but she nodded.  If Anderson’s reaction was any indication, the man wouldn’t be worth it, but an iffy lead was better than no lead at all at this point.  “I guess I will start there, then.”

“There’s a financial advisor down in the Presidium,” Anderson broke in.  “Name of Barla Von.  He might have some information you can use too.  Just tell him I sent you - he’ll know what I mean.”

“Noted.”  Jane looked back and forth between Udina and Anderson.  “Anything else?”

Udina shook his head.  “We will be in the embassies if you need us, Commander,” he informed her.  “Come on, Anderson.”

Anderson allowed Udina to walk ahead of him a few steps before he turned back to Jane and the others.  “This is your show, Shepard,” he told her.  “Do what you have to do, but know this: Saren hates humans.  I’ve seen proof of that first hand in the past.  And now that he knows that we know about him, he’s likely to make things difficult for you.  Be careful out there.”  Without another word, he turned to follow Udina, leaving the four standing by themselves.

Jane glanced up at John.  They had both known Anderson for about the same length of time.  “Well then.”

John chuckled.  “That’s Anderson for you.”

“Indeed.  Alright.  So, next question.  Do we do this together, or do we split up?”  She glanced over at the other three.  “Opinions?”

“We might use our time more efficiently if we broke up into two groups,” Alenko suggested.  Jane looked over at Williams who nodded.  

“I agree,” John added.  “Why don’t I take Williams and we’ll go investigate this Barla Von character?  You and Alenko can go talk to Harkin.”  He flashed her a quick grin.  “He sounds like quite the, uh, character.  Right up your alley.”

Jane snorted, amusement sparkling in her green eyes.  “He does, doesn’t he?” she mused.  Glancing over at Williams and Alenko, she asked, “That work for you two?”  

They both nodded.  “Sure, Commander,” Williams replied.  She glanced over at John.  “Ready to go, Skipper?”

Jane bit back a grin and reached out to pat the other woman’s shoulder.  “You sure don’t lack enthusiasm, do you, Chief?”

Ashley smiled.  “How does that old Earth tune go?  ‘Always look on the bright side of life’?”

Jane chortled as she and Alenko turned to leave.  “Nice, Chief.  Very nice.”  She gave her husband one last smile.  “Good luck.”

His smile reached his eyes at least, she noted.  She knew he was still a bit worried over her reaction to the beacon, but this was progress.  “You too.”

  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

“You okay, Commander?”

They were leaving _Chora’s Den_ , and Jane glanced over at the Lieutenant more out of curiosity at his question than anything else.  “Shouldn’t I be, Lieutenant?” she countered quizzically.

Alenko’s face reddened just a bit, apparently realizing he had crossed some boundary.  “Sorry, ma’am,” he replied, “but Harkin was -”

Jane’s questioning look smoothed into a warm smile.  “An ass?” she offered.

“Well, yes, that’s one way to put it,” he agreed.  Then he added, a hint of a smirk teasing his lips, “Might I suggest you add ‘condescending’ to your report?  Just for clarification purposes, of course.”

Jane chuckled, but her eyes were filled with mirth as she nodded.  “Duly noted, Lieutenant.”  Leading the way over to call for a skycab, she asked, “Anything else you took away from that little chat we had with him?”

He was silent for a moment as he considered her question.  “Well, ma’am, I sincerely doubt he is on the C-Sec public relations team.”

Jane actually chortled as they hopped into the arriving cab and she directed the driver to Dr. Michel’s clinic.  “Nice, Alenko, nice.  What about our quarry, Garrus?”

Alenko frowned.  Jane had to admit, if silently, she liked the fact that the Lieutenant took the time to think things through before voicing an opinion or replying to a question.  “Well, Harkin didn’t seem to care for him, if I read his tone right.”

Jane nodded once.  “You did,” she assured him.

“Then, based off of Harkin’s previous attitude, and the way he tried to goad you into a reaction about Captain Anderson’s past, I would say that Harkin’s behavior confirms that Garrus might just be an asset we could use,” he concluded.

Again, Jane nodded.  “Agreed.”

They arrived at the med clinic a few minutes later and Jane paid the driver as she and Alenko exited the vehicle.  “So then,” she murmured as she began surveying the area.

Alenko shifted on his feet beside her after the cab pulled away before venturing dryly, “Why do I get the feeling this won’t be as easy as it sounds?”

Jane flashed a grin over at him.  “Because given the nature of what we are after, it shouldn’t?”  The one thing that was sticking out to her as she prepared to move forward was that it was surprisingly quiet for an area with a medical clinic.   _Too_ quiet, really.  Her gut instinct was screaming at her and had her reaching for the familiarity and comfort of dark energy at the ready upon her fingertips.  

“Commander?”

She glanced over at him.  It wasn’t a hesitation or concern from what she could tell, but more of a question as to her methods.  “We don’t go in guns blazing, Alenko,” she murmured quietly.  “This is a clinic - there could be civilians inside.”

Alenko nodded and mimicked her movement until he, too, had that tell tale blue haze wrapping around his hand.  Jane smiled as she realized that was all the explanation he needed from her.  Then again, being a biotic, he would likely understand on a whole different level.  With John or other non-biotics, situations like this took more of a discussion on tactics.  “Understood, Commander.  Ready when you are.”

The next few minutes passed with stunning speed and clarity for Jane as they entered the clinic.  Not for the first time, she discovered that her instincts had read more of a situation than she could visually see.  The door opened and closed softly behind her and Alenko, and as she stepped forward, she became aware of the man holding the doctor hostage, his pistol at her head.  Garrus, Jane could see, was moving into position to her left, thankfully out of sight of the gunman.  In order to keep him undiscovered, she kept her eyes upon the man and ordered sharply, “Let her go.”  

What followed next became a rush and a blur of activity, but during that same time she was able to reach several conclusions.  First: Officer Garrus Vakarian was an excellent shot - or, perhaps, just lucky.  Personally, Jane was inclined to believe the first over the latter, and no matter the case, she knew to have him on her team would be a plus. The second thing she discovered was that Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko was holding back his true potential.  That became quite obvious when she noticed just what fine precision he had in the use of his biotics against their opponents in the clinic.  What caught her attention was the comparative difference between the precision accuracy of certain attacks versus the end results.  Jane made a mental note to speak with him later in this regard.  Certainly there were times when that would come into play, but a firefight with hostage taking thugs was not one of them.  The third conclusion she reached came after the battle.  It was then that Jane discovered that Dr. Chloe Michel was likely more important to their overall mission than Jane had previously thought.  This became very clear in the information she imparted; information regarding the quarian … and the geth.  

“Geth?”  Jane heard Alenko and Vakarian chorus her amazement once this was announced.

The doctor nodded.  “I told her Fist was an agent of the Shadow Broker and she insisted on seeing him and left the clinic.”

Garrus shook his head slowly, negating the doctor’s words.  “Not anymore, he isn’t.  Fist sided with Saren and the Shadow Broker hired a krogan mercenary named Wrex to deal with his betrayal.”

Jane and Alenko exchanged a look.  “Sounds like we need to speak with this Wrex,” Jane mused.

“Then we should head to C-Sec Academy,” Garrus told her.  “Wrex was being brought in for a ‘talking to’ because he was openly threatening Fist in his own club.”

“Confident, isn’t he?” Alenko observed dryly.

Garrus nodded.  “He can afford to be - he’s a krogan battlemaster.”

Jane’s smile broadened at that discovery.  Having a krogan battlemaster on their side couldn’t hurt, right?  “Interesting,” she mused.

“Commander, I hope you don’t think me out of line, but … you’re going after Saren.  I have an interest in seeing him brought to justice, too.  I was wondering if you would consider including me on your team for that.”

Jane’s eyebrow lifted.   _Bold move_.  “I don’t see a problem with that for now,” she told him after a moment’s consideration.  “Are you willing to follow my command?”

Garrus nodded immediately.  “Of course, Commander.”

“All right then.”  She glanced from one to the other before nodding towards the exit.  “Let’s go find us a krogan battlemaster.”

  


~ 0 ~

  


“Sir?”

John nodded absently as they walked, eyes surveying the area around them carefully.  “Speak freely, Williams,” he told her.  

“What was _that_ all about, sir?”

John chuckled and slowed his pace so the Chief could catch up and walk beside him through the Presidium.  “That, Chief, was a test.  Sort of.”  He shook his head.  Jane was so much better at deciphering these more political type things than he was.  His areas of expertise mostly included the battlefield and anything tech related.  Word games, not so much.  “Ultimately, I think the volus was trying to help us.”

Williams seemed to ponder this for a moment.  “Okay, I _think_ I can see that … but what was it he was actually told us?”

John shrugged as he led the way across the bridge to the entrance leading into the elevator system that would take them to the Wards and C-Sec.  “I wish I knew, Chief.  I wish I knew.”

The elevator system wasn’t overly complicated, though it did require several changes and transfers and took them a while to maneuver.  Eventually, though, they exited near their destination.  John frowned as they stepped through a series of doors and he found that they were in an altogether different place than he’d expected.   _Then again, maybe not._  “Damn.”

Williams stopped up short behind him.  “Are we lost again, Skipper?” she asked in a mild tone.

John’s frown darkened as he glanced down at her.  “Again?”

“Well, you _did_ try to convince me the Consort’s quarters was the volus’ financial office,” she reminded him.

John glowered at her.  “No, I did not,” he insisted as she grinned.

“Whatever you say, Skipper,” she demured.  “Oh, and, sir?  You want to go to your left.  Down the stairs over there, hang another left and the elevator at the end of that hall will be the one we need.”

John actually turned on his heel sharply to face her in astonishment.  “How the hell did you figure that out so fast?” he demanded.  “I thought you said you’d never been here before?”

Her grin widened.  “I haven’t.  Back in Udina’s office, while you and Commander were discussing Eden Prime with Anderson and the ambassador?  The LT pulled up a map of the Citadel on his omni-tool.  Showed me all the main routes.  Told me I might end up,” she coughed into the back of her hand, “needing them if I was teamed up with you at some point.  Sir.”

John’s glower narrowed further.  “Oh, he did, did he?”

“Yes sir,” she affirmed with an innocent nod.  “Now I owe him twenty credits, too, since he was right.”

John said nothing to that, just quietly walked down the stairs and turned down the hall leading in the direction of C-Sec.  Williams followed, swallowing back the rest of her amusement.  

Their arrival at C-Sec Academy went virtually unnoticed.  John set out his arm to slow Williams’ pace, bringing them in unobtrusively so that they could observe the scene before them.  A krogan, one of the largest and more fearsome that John had ever seen, stood face to face with one of the human C-Sec guards.  He also noted a turian and another human, both dressed in the uniforms of C-Sec, also nearby.  It was clear that the discussion between them was on the contentious side of things.  

“That our krogan, Skipper?” Williams murmured beside him.

They both listened as the C-Sec officer called the krogan by name.

“Appears to be, Chief,” John replied.  A movement off to his right caught his attention.  A quick glance over, and he met the eyes of his wife, then Alenko and then noticed the turian he recalled was Vakarian.  When his eyebrow lifted in question, Jane’s head jerked slightly towards the conversation before them.  “Looks like we’re not the only ones looking for him, either.”

When Wrex walked away from C-Sec, John saw him turn towards Jane and her group.  Nodding at Williams, he told her, “Let’s go join them.”

The krogan didn’t even give him or Williams a second look as they blended in with the rest of the _Normandy_ team, John noticed.  Which was good … he hoped, anyway.  

“We’re going after Fist ourselves,” Jane was explaining.  John kept his eyes on the krogan as his wife spoke.  There was a gleam of something he could see in those red eyes.  “Perhaps we could join up and work together?”

The krogan nodded his head after a moment.  “My people have a saying,” he announced.  “‘ _Seek the enemy of your enemy and you will find a friend.’_  I will join you, human.”

Jane nodded agreement and reached out a hand to shake the krogan’s to solidify their deal.  “But just so you are aware,” Wrex warned, “I do intend on killing Fist to fulfill my contract.”

John opened his mouth to add vehemence to his wife’s earlier stance on the matter, but he saw her hand at her side make a gesture that he recognized.  A signal they both had, for the few times they had worked together in past, to let the other know they were in control of a situation and did not require the other’s intervention.  Closing his mouth again, John remained silent.

“I can respect that, Wrex,” she assured him.  “However, I want to make sure I have certain pieces of information before that happens.  So you either agree to abide by my leadership, or I will request C-Sec keep you in a cell until such time as I can finish my interrogation.”

Wrex leaned in towards Jane then in what was clearly meant to be an intimidating and menacing manner, and John had to catch himself.  Again, he noted that hand gesture from her, asking him to stay out of it, even as her focus was solely on the krogan.  So, while his wife held her ground with Wrex, he signaled his companions, who were also beginning to shift warily on their feet, to stay back.  A moment later, the rough rumblings of krogan laughter signaled that all was well.  “Agreed,” Wrex finally acquiesced.  

Jane nodded.  “Good.”  She turned then towards John and Williams.  “Your talk with the volus?”

John nodded towards Wrex.  “Led us to the krogan,” he explained.  “I can brief you on our way.”

Jane nodded.  “We,” she nodded at Alenko and Garrus, “have a few things to tell you both as well.”

John eyed their growing little group quickly.   _Impressive_ was the first word that came to mind.  “Then let’s get moving.”

  


~ 0 ~

  


When they arrived at _Chora’s Den_ , Jane took a quick look around, felt that same kick in the gut she’d had back at the med clinic and signaled Alenko over.  “Scan the area for me.  Get in as close as you can without giving yourself away.”  With a nod, he moved inside the walled area and began to do so.  

Turning towards the others, she murmured, “Chances are, they know we’re coming.”

“Don’t they always?” John muttered.  

Jane chuckled.  “With you, perhaps,” she teased.  “I’m a bit more subtle in my approach to things.”

Their eyes met and she saw the spark of mischief behind the blue.  “Remind me of that later and I’ll refresh your memory of just how subtle I can be,” he countered quietly.

Jane grinned.  Some things, it seemed, never changed.  “Promises, promises.”

The soft sound of booted steps approaching had her turning to face Alenko as he rejoined them.  “The place is completely closed down, Commander.  I can’t tell exact positions without being inside, or what types of weapons they are armed with,” he explained, “but I can account for at least two dozen bodies in the main area of the club.  Likely more beyond that, in the back where Fist’s office is.”

Jane nodded, glancing at the schematic Alenko had pulled up on his omni-tool where he had been using a finger to trace the path inside.  “Right.  John, you take Alenko and Garrus with you.  Go left.  Clear out anything and everything in the way.  I’ll take Williams and Wrex.”

She saw her husband glance over at the schematic over her shoulder then nod.  “Got it.  You taking the right?”

Jane nodded.  “The guys Fist sent to the clinic were armed to the teeth, so be ready.”

John flashed her a quick smile.  “See you on the other side,” he murmured before signaling the turian and Alenko to follow.  

Jane turned towards Wrex and Williams.  “Let’s go.  Keep an eye out.  I mean it - these guys had more firepower than was necessary to intimidate a clinic doctor.  I suspect they were prepared for intervention.”

Williams nodded once.  “On your six, ma’am.”  

The battle, once engaged, was pretty much contained inside of the club.  Jane had chosen to take Williams and Wrex with her because she wanted to get a better estimation of Williams’ skills as she’d observed on Eden Prime, as well as to give the woman a bit of a psychological boost after the fiasco of how that mission had ended; plus she had been curious what the krogan might bring to the party.  Biotics, to her way of thinking, was always a bonus.  Wrex’s skill with a shotgun, even more so.  Then there was his ‘in your face’ approach to battle.  As Jane and Williams each took a line in on their side of the club - Jane to the leftmost portion, ducking behind the obstacle course that was the bar and the multitude of chairs that were in the way, and Williams the right, using tables and dancing platforms as cover, Wrex just barrelled straight down the center, taking anyone or thing brave enough to face him in a head on collision followed up with a personal greeting from his shotgun.  Jane found it to be quite an interesting experience.  

Once the front of the club was finally cleaned out, both groups met up near the doors leading to the back section of the club.  “Alenko, and Wrex with me this time,” she announced.  Turning to John, she added, “Stay here and keep an eye out.  I suspect reinforcements will be incoming soon and we may need to leave in a hurry.”

“Got it.”  As she turned away, she heard him giving orders to Garrus and Williams regarding placement.  Jane knew she and her team would be safe from behind.

Entering the back halls, Jane had just led them around a corner when they came face to face with several who were quite clearly not professional soldiers of any kind.  “Warehouse workers,” Wrex observed.  

At their protests regarding Jane and her squad’s presence, Jane simply lifted an eyebrow and nodded back the way she had come.  Keeping her pistol lowered in a non-threatening manner, she informed them in a deceptively mild tone, “I just killed fifty of Fist’s men on the way in here.  What do you think I will do if you try to stop me, hmm?”

It didn’t take them long to decide they wanted to live beyond that moment and scurried off to wait out the attack in a nearby store room.  “Come on,” Jane told her companions as she set a timer on the lock to the door.  She didn’t want them sneaking back out before she and the others were gone.

They found their way to a doorway that had to belong to Fist.  Jane pulled up her omni-tool and began searching for a program to override the door lock when Alenko stepped forward.  “Allow me, ma’am,” he murmured, moving in and taking over.  

Jane nodded and took a moment to watch over his shoulder.  “I think you and I are going to have to have a long chat and compare notes when we get back to the _Normandy_ , Lieutenant,” she murmured before stepping aside and retrieving her pistol as the doors slid open.

Their eyes met briefly as he rose, but he had a smile on his face.  “Yes, ma’am.”

They were met inside by Fist and two gun turrets.  The turrets, though, were not match for the overload attacks both she and Alenko threw at them.  Wrex, of course, barrelled right down the center of the room, heedless of gunfire aimed directly at him or furniture obscuring his path.  Moving quickly, as soon as the turrets were down, Jane stepped forward to take charge.  Thankfully, Wrex cooperated and backed off before taking a shot at Fist.  

“Where’s the quarian?” Jane demanded, moving in with her pistol aimed directly at Fist.

She listened to the man before her sputter a bit before explaining what had happened.  “It’s not far from here!” he insisted as she knelt down beside him, anger guiding her pistol to sit just below his chin.  “If you hurry, you can get to her!”

“You bastard!” Jane hissed.  “And just what am I supposed to do?  Leave you here?  Let you go?  Your crimes are more serious than -”

“You won’t see me anymore,” Fist promised, struggling up to his feet.  Jane rose at the same time, her pistol continuously trained on him.  “I promise!  I’ll leave and you won’t ever have to -”

A shot rang out a few inches to Jane’s left, finding its way forward and in through the man’s armor.  Jane lowered her pistol as Fist crumpled to the ground, the life slowly bleeding out of him with the wound, but there was no doubt that it was deadly.  “Consider yourself fortunate,” Jane sneered at him as she turned.  “I would have made sure it took twice as long for you to die.”  

Jane was just nodding Alenko and the krogan towards the door when her comm crackled.  

“ _We’ve got company out here,_ ” John’s voice announced.  

“On our way,” she replied.  To Wrex and Alenko, she said, “Let’s go.”

  


~ 0 ~

  


“Williams, you’ve got the left, Garrus the right.  Keep the paths clear,” John told them.  As for himself, he took aim at the pair that had somehow managed to get up top over the bar.  Using the crates left by the previous ‘owners,’ he took cover until he could get clear shots at them, but by the time Jane and her squad arrived, the front of _Chora’s Den_ was once again clear of mercs.  

“Well,” he heard his wife huff softly as he rose to his feet, “looks like you guys get all the fun!”

John grinned, eyes sparkling.  “I don’t know,” he countered as he moved aside to let her through.  “Sounded like you were having quite a party back there a while ago.”

Jane snorted softly.  “Turrets, John,” she told him, her own grin matching his.  “You would have loved it.”  Sighing, she took a quick look around the room before them.  Satisfied it was empty, she gestured everyone towards the exit.  “Let’s go, people.  We’ve got a quarian who has been led into a trap and only a couple of minutes to see she remains safe.”

John followed behind her, keeping pace as the others brought up the rear.  “Which way?” he asked as they ducked out of the club.  

“Down that alleyway to the left before entering the markets,” she replied.  Then a snarl.  “Bastard set her up, John.”

He heard the bitterness in her tone, understood the source.  “We’ll make it,” he promised, hoping it would reassure her.  

John burst ahead of her as they neared the door to the alleyway, his omni-tool at the ready so that by the time Jane and the others caught up, it was open.  Jane signalled him and the rest of the squads to either side of the hall, while she ducked and crept up on ahead.  John waved the others to a stop while he followed up behind her.  “Five, plus the quarian,” Jane breathed near his ear.  John nodded and turned back to relay the information via hand signals.  A moment later, the sound of flashbang grenades signaled the start of battle.  Within moments, it was all over.  While Jane spoke with the quarian, John checked on the status of the rest of their group.  

“We’re good, Skipper,” Williams assured him with a broad smile.  

John frowned at her.  From what he’d seen of her in action so far, he knew she could handle herself on a battlefield, but this … was different.  It seemed out of place for their current situation.  “Why the grin, Chief?”  It was then that he saw Alenko pulling a credit chit from one of the hidden pockets in his armor and reluctantly handing it over to Williams.  “Ah.”  Alenko’s sheepish look did not go unnoticed, either.

“John?”

His attention pulled back to the matter at hand, he crossed over to his wife and the quarian.  “What is it?”

“We need to get some place safe,” Jane explained quickly.  She gave him a knowing look, but one that had a sparkle of victory twinkling in her green eyes.  “We’ve got him this time!”

Alenko had moved over to join them.  Nodding over at the quarian first, he suggested, “What about the embassies?”

John nodded his agreement.  “Safest place as any,” he agreed.  “And if this is as potent as you think, we’ll need Udina’s help to get in to see the Council.”

Jane nodded.  “Let’s go,” she called to the others as she moved to one side and John to the other of the quarian, Tali.  Retribution for the rogue Spectre, it would seem, was closer at hand than anyone had thought possible.

 


	4. Chapter 4

In all the insanity surrounding Jane’s induction as a Council Spectre once Tali’Zorah’s evidence was brought to light, John could not say that he was not surprised he didn’t run into her again until she returned to the _Normandy_ some hours later.  Or, rather, when _HE_ returned to the ship to find her standing off alone at the far end of the landing platform, staring silently and thoughtfully out at the ward arms in the distance.  She stood leaning partially bent forward at the waist, arms resting on the railing, hands folded together and her eyes focused on something he could not decipher from his current point of view.  However, John knew that their target didn’t really matter.  It was a pose he had seen her adopt a time or two in the past, usually during difficult times.  One he knew that, even if he _could_ see her eyes right then he would recognize the look there.  No doubt it would be the same as that day when they’d been parted so many years before.

Instead of boarding the _Normandy_ , John chose instead to approach her.  He waited until he was within hearing distance to make a sound, a sort of throat clearing noise as an alert so she knew he was nearby.  He saw her turn her head a bit as if listening, but she did not look over in his direction.  “You can come on up,” she told him quietly.  “I’m just … thinking.”

Very few strides had him standing beside her, adopting a similar posture to her own, though his focus was entirely on her at the moment and not the scenic view in front of them.  Other than when she’d been lying unconscious in the medical bay after Eden Prime, this was the first chance he’d really had to spend some time alone with her since their most recent reunion.  “What are you thinking about?” he asked.

He heard her sigh softly, wondered at the constant whirl of thoughts that always seemed to be rolling through her head at any given moment.  She had always spent so much time thinking when they were younger.  During class, while working on homework, even during the free time they had spent together roaming and investigating the ship together back then, he would often catch her drifting off to some place that he never could seem to find, a place where only she could go.  At the time, he’d almost been jealous of how easy she made it seem.  Later, after they’d been brought back together, she’d explained that it wasn’t always a good place to be.  

“Things,” she murmured.  “Saren and the geth.  Being a Council Spectre.  The weight of responsibility involved in all of that.  You know,” she flashed him a quick smile, tilting her head so their eyes finally met, “the usual.”

John snorted softly, his arm sliding to wrap around her shoulders and pull her close.  “The usual, huh?” he echoed.  “Why is your usual always places I can’t go along?”

Jane blinked, surprise suffusing her features.  “What do you mean?” she countered.  “We’ve always done everything together before.”  When his eyebrow raised in question, she dipped her head slightly, eyes dropping for a moment as she amended, “Well, all the important things.  Basic.  N School.  Elysium.”  She sighed and rolled her eyes as he made an odd noise in his throat.  “Okay … I’ll grant you, that _was_ an odd way to spend our honeymoon, but still ….”

Chuckling, John tightened his arm around her shoulders.  “Odd is our usual, is that what you’re saying?”

Silence fell over them for a while, but it was companionable enough.  After another minute or two, Jane leaned into his shoulder, her cheek coming to rest on his shirt sleeve.  “I’m glad you’re here, John,” she finally told him.  

“Me too,” he admitted.  “It’s been too long since we last worked together.”

A smile at her lips, Jane straightened a bit and turned until she was leaning against the rail, his arms around her while she faced him.  “It has,” she agreed.  “I’m actually a little surprised Anderson managed it.”

John chuckled, laughter bubbling upwards and reaching his eyes.  “From what I heard, he handpicked the entire crew.  Well, except for the three new additions who just joined us.  And Williams.”

Jane nodded, another sigh escaping.  “I’m sorry about Jenkins,” she murmured.  She knew he took deaths of crew under his command just as hard as she did.  “Did you know him well?”

John shrugged.  “Not really,” he admitted.  “All of about three days, maybe.  He and Alenko seemed to know one another, though.”  Adjusting their positions, he loosely pinned her against the railing so he could lean in for a kiss.  “Six months was a hell of a long time,” he grumbled.

Jane smiled, her lips still pressed lightly against his.  “We both knew this would happen,” she reminded him, “more often than not.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Lifting her head, she found his eyes and held his gaze.  “Is that why you gave the doctor so much grief when I was unconscious?”

His eyes narrowed as he protested, “I did no such thing.”

“John.”  Her tone was a mixture of gentle chastising and astonishment.  “Just like you didn’t come straight to Earth looking for me after my grandam died?”

John’s arms wrapped around her, pulling her tight against his chest.  That had been a trip, that was for certain.  “You’d barely been there six months,” he murmured.  “What else was I supposed to do?”

“I was almost seventeen, John,” she reminded him.

“And I was worried about you,” he countered.  “I get a message from you saying, ‘ _I’m all alone now,’_ and nothing further even after I message you back.  What else am I supposed to think?”

“You panicked,” she corrected gently.  “Besides, I was in London -”

“All alone.”

She pursed her lips together.  “What did you think was going to happen?  That I’d end up running a street gang or something?”

His hands dropped, catching hers and squeezing tightly.  “Isn’t that sort of what happened?” he asked.  “I did find you with the _Reds_ , you know.  Eight weeks later.”

“I was hardly ‘running’ them, and you know it.  They offered me a relatively safe place.  I knew what I was doing -” she protested, but the sharp headshake cut her off.

“Safe place?” he echoed incredulously.  “You really believe that, don’t you?  Jane, they are an infamous street gang.  You had no idea what you were getting into.”  He shook his head firmly.  “None whatsoever.”  Lifting a hand, he tucked some of her red hair - a shade of red that had always fascinated him - behind the delicate shape of her ear.  

“I did,” she argued, one hand coming up to poke him in the chest, “otherwise why do you think I would have let you talk me into joining up with the Alliance so early by lying about my age?  I was able to recognize that I needed to get out of there ….”

This time, he was the one to sigh.  Lowering his forehead to meet hers, he replied in a hopeful tone, “You agreed because you loved me and couldn’t live without me?”

Jane cracked a grin but couldn’t hide the blush staining her cheeks.  “Well, that came later.”

“Seriously?” he teased, brow lifting.  

She nodded.  “I seem to recall, I resisted your proposals for a good few years.”

“Hmm.  Well then, you must have joined up because you knew I was right.”

Jane smacked the side of his arm.  “Oh, please!  Try again.”

“You hit like a girl, you know.”  The sight of her scowling up at him like that made his pulse jump just a bit.  There was a certain edge to the spark of irritation in her eyes that he found to be quite … intriguing.  “Then again, since you _are_ a girl …”

He knew what was coming next.  It was an old familiar routine between them when he pushed her just a little too far.  She moved fast, grasping him by one wrist, pressing a hand solidly at his other shoulder and spinning so that he was now the one with his back to the railing, her standing just a few inches beneath him and glowering up in his direction.   _Never fails to diffuse a potential argument either._  “I stand corrected?” he offered.

She leaned up to kiss him firmly before releasing him.  Chuckling softly, she dropped her head to his shoulder once more, if only briefly.  “Hmm.  We’ll see how long that lasts.”  Her tone sounded less irritated, though, so John figured it had worked.  “How are your parents, by the way?” she asked next.  “Have they forgiven me yet?”

“I was the only one they blamed for running after you,” he reminded her.  “And you know that.  Mom is serving aboard the _Kilimanjaro_ at the moment.  Dad’s an instructor at basic.”

Jane’s head lifted in surprise.  “He got it?”  

John nodded.  “Yeah.  The old man got his dream position.  I’m beginning to wonder if Anderson had a hand in that, too.”

“Or Hackett,” Jane reminded him.  “From what your father told us, they all three served together.”

“True.”

Sighing, Jane straightened and pulled a step away from him after glancing at the time on her omni-tool.  “I suppose we might as well board,” she murmured.  “We should have everyone back soon.”

John hesitated before releasing his grip on her hands.  Squeezing them once, he asked, “You going to be okay?”

She looked over at him, guilt still eating at her.  “I don’t like what they did to Anderson,” she admitted while chewing on the corner of her lip.

He nodded his agreement with her while pointing out, “It makes sense though.  Even he thought so.”

Jane shrugged.  “Doesn’t make it any more right.  But yeah … I’ll be okay.  And when I’m not ….”

John moved to her side, arm at her waist as he led her down the steps and in the direction of the airlock.  “I’ll be here to help if you want it,” he assured her.

Jane tossed him a quick and grateful smile.  “Or at least to lean on for a minute until I sort out how to fix it,” she replied.  

“That too.”

  


~ 0 ~

  


“So, boss lady,” Joker rambled as he began maneuvering the _Normandy_ out of dock and away from the Citadel, “where are we headed?”

Jane glanced over at John, standing off to the side and observing some sort of readings (she was never sure exactly what he was looking at during times like this) while offering, “Wild blue yonder?”  A minute later, she turned and exited the bridge towards the CIC.

“Great help there, Commander,” Joker called after her.  “Just remember … you want to get where you want to go you need to let the pilot know.”

Jane chuckled as she walked down the hall.  “Nice rhyming there, Joker,” she called back.  “Maybe you have a future moonlighting as a poet?”

The sound of the other Commander Shepard chuckling softly nearby didn’t help matters either.  “You did set yourself up for that,” John pointed out.  

“Yeah, yeah,” the helmsman muttered.  “Anyway, the way I understand it, we’ve got three options.  This Feros and the Exo Geni people who have gone offline; Noveria and their privatized little corner of the world all covered in snow and ice; and wherever this place ‘somewhere in the Artemis Tau Cluster’ turns out to be.”  Shaking his head, Joker sighed in frustration.  “What’s she wanting to do, flip a coin?  Roll a die?”

A soft beep sounded and a small green indicator light jumped onto one of the open monitors before them a minute or two later.  “Woman’s intuition?” John offered as he read the output.  “Artemis Tau it appears to be.  Looks like we’re going to find us an asari archaeologist.”

“Alphabetical order doesn’t count,” Joker retorted, though he laid in the coordinates.  A few moments later, a readout scrolled up before him.  “Looks like thirty-six hours until we get to the cluster.”

John nodded.  “And then the real hunt begins.  Alright, I’ll leave the flying to you for now.  Call me or Alenko if you need relief.”

“Yes, sir.”

  


~ 0 ~

  


“Seriously?  He proposed to you while you were on guard duty?”

John rolled his eyes as he descended the stairway to the crew deck.  One of the things many of the crew hadn’t figured out yet was how the shape of the mess area allowed for their voices to carry around the deck … and vibrant voices, such as that belonging to a certain Chief who was now a permanent part of the crew, tended to carry very well.  

“The first time, yes,” he heard Jane reply softly, a hint of amusement mixed with fondness in her tone.  He couldn’t help but smile to himself.  He _had_ been inspired that night.

“First time?”  

In addition to Williams’ voice, John identified a subtle, deeper tone.   _Williams and Alenko_ , he realized.   _Well, it was only a matter of time before questions began, I suppose._  

“Just how many times _did_ he ask?” Williams demanded.  

There was a pause, and then the sound of ceramic connecting with (presumably) the tabletop.  A quirk tilted at John’s lips.   _She still drinks the tea on the way to a mission_ , he thought.  “Five,” he announced as he rounded the corner.  His voice must have come as a surprise, because he saw both Alenko and Williams bolt straight upright into positions of attention.  

Jane simply frowned over at him.  “Six,” she corrected.

John had merely walked by them, determined to seek out a cup of coffee, but now paused for a moment before turning back to join them for just a moment.  Lifting his hand, he began counting off on individual fingers.  “Once at basic.  Once at OCS.  Once at our first duty station on Terra Nova.  Once at Christmas that year we were with my parents. And once during our reunion after the first time we were separated by duty assignments.”

Jane sat back in her seat, arms folded across her chest as her tea was left forgotten for the moment.  “Really?” she challenged.  “You’re going to forget my birthday when I graduated from tech school?”

John opened his mouth to argue … but caught himself.  “That was ….”

“The year before Christmas with your parents.”

John sighed.  Fine, he’d own that one.  “Okay, okay ….   _Six_ times,” he agreed.  “But the important thing is you finally said yes.  And,” he added, “that I remember our anniversary every year.”  He turned away then to walk over to the galley and complete his original mission.

“Only because you have it programmed into your omni-tool,” she called after him.

He glanced over in her direction, their eyes meeting once more.  “And you don’t?”

Jane shook her head and used her index finger to point to her forehead.  “I use my noggin, thank you very much.”

John heard a sort of strangled gurgling sound, but could not tell if it was Alenko or Williams who was the culprit.  Returning to the table, he took a seat and joined them.  

“How did you two first meet?”

John glanced over at Jane and nodded for her to take Alenko’s question.  She had her cup of tea in hand again and took a long drink before responding.  “My mom was assigned to serve on the same ship his parents were on.  We both ended up in school classes together.  And the rest, as they say, is history,” she explained.

Williams hrrmpfed softly as she fell back into her seat.  “Well, that’s not a let down by any stretch of the imagination.”

John nearly choked on his coffee.  “Actually, it was more like she had gotten lost -”

“I did not!”

John nodded once in acquiescence.  “Forgive me - ‘misdirected by one of the crew’ - trying to find the quarters she and her mom had been assigned.  I was exploring the ship and -”

“And came barrelling around a corner without a care for where he was going,” Jane continued.  “Nearly flattened me.”

John snickered.  “If that was the case, why was I the one who ended up flat on his ass?”

Ignoring him, Jane added, “And that is how we met.  In the end, though, he finally told me how to get to my quarters, and I dragged him along so Mom could meet him.”  She smiled over the brim of her mug as she drank.  “Mom always did like you.”

They were still talking, minutes or hours later, when Garrus entered the mess and joined them.  A short while later, Tali’Zorah arrived as well.  Eventually, meals were sought, and the storytelling began to broaden to areas other than just the Commanders’ Shepard’s backgrounds.  

Jane sat cross legged in her chair, about three cups of tea later, and asked, “So, Garrus, how did you end up as a cop?”

The turian seemed startled that the focus was suddenly turned on him.  “A ‘cop?’”

“Officer,” Williams supplied.  “Enforcer of the law, defender of the people, yadda yadda yadda.”

“Ah.”  Though Garrus still appeared uncomfortable, he did not dodge the question.  “I have heard the term before, but I guess I never really paid much attention to it.  Well, let me see … there was the fact that I wanted to, well … help people.  Protect them in some way.  Also, my father was in C-Sec.  It was sort of expected that I would follow in his footsteps.”

John nodded, saw Jane, Williams and Alenko do the same.  “That’s a familiar story for many of us,” he offered.  

“You, too, Commander?” Tali asked him, a hint of surprise in her tone.  

John chuckled, his eyes meeting Jane’s.  “Yup.  Mom is navy - has served shipside her entire career.  Dad’s a marine, currently whipping new recruits into shape at basic.  I grew up with that.  Always with mom, even if dad was stationed apart, but we got lucky and managed to stay together most of the time.”

“I would imagine being in the flotilla is similar?” Jane asked.

Tali nodded.  “It certainly sounds like it.  It’s difficult not to become a part of it, growing up in the Fleet.  Although,” she added, “our soldiers serve aboard ships rather than based on land.”

Jane nodded in return.  “I was with both parents until I was eight, all of those years were aboard ship.  After that, it was just me and my mom.”  She offered a smile.  “Mom was a marine and could have been given a land based assignment, but she loved being able to look out a window at all the stars.  Loved having the chance to show it all to me.”  She shrugged.  “I guess it stuck.”

“What about you, Alenko?” John asked.

The Lieutenant shrugged.  “Dad was a marine, though he retired a long while back.  I decided to follow in his footsteps later.”

Jane smiled over at him.  “Must’ve made him proud,” she murmured.

He shrugged again.  “Eventually,” he agreed before glancing pointedly over at Williams.  “How about you?”

Jane had turned to look over at the Chief and noticed the smallest of hesitations before the younger woman responded.   “We have a history of several generations serving,” she finally admitted.  “It wasn’t _expected_ I would serve, but I _chose_ to.”

Wrex came lumbering in a short while later.  After being guided over to the galley, he too joined the group surrounding the table.  By that point, conversation had turned to various harrowing missions or other tales from past experience.  

“I would imagine N School provided you both,” Williams mused with a glance from Jane to John, “with plenty of near misses.”

Jane snorted softly while John just flat out laughed aloud.  “You could say that,” he replied.

“Remember,” Jane told Williams, “we were both targeted at different times.  John was already rated N5 by the time it was offered to me.”

“How did that happen?” Alenko asked.  “I mean … you didn’t get on Alliance Command’s radar simply because he was already in the program, did you?”

John chuckled and waved the questions off to Jane.  After giving him a slightly sour look, she rolled her eyes and turned to face the Lieutenant.  “No, I was chosen because of my own ….”

“Brilliance,” John interjected.

“Stupidity,” Jane countered.  

Their eyes met across the table and held for a long moment, but John finally shrugged.  “I dunno … Anderson seemed impressed.”

Jane rolled her eyes again.  “Anderson’s biased.  Anyway, basically what happened was, we both were in the right place at the right time.”

“For future reference for anyone interested,” John added, grinning over at his wife, “Elysium is probably not the best place for a honeymoon.”

Jane felt the heat stain her cheeks as everyone at the table suddenly turned eyes upon her.  “Shore leave,” she mused, “isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.  We were supposed to have a week.  On the third day, the batarians attacked and for the next four days, John and I were helping the civilians survive.  I only got noticed because of some ‘daring do’ to get communications back online so we could talk with the incoming Alliance ships and coordinate our efforts.”

Williams’ eyes widened.  “I heard about that!” she exclaimed.  

Alenko nodded.  “I would have imagined it would get you any post in the fleet.”

Jane sipped from her tea.  “It did … relatively speaking.  After the whole thing was over, they decided to give me that blasted Star of Terra.  Just before the ceremony, Anderson approached me and told me I had a choice - I could get any post I wanted, or I could go on to N School and try for N7 rating.  I chose N School.”

“Because of the Commander?” Tali asked.

Jane shook her head.  “No, though that was a consideration at the time.  I chose it because my dad was in N School at the time he died.  He only made it to N4.  I’d hoped one day to have the chance to fulfill his dream for myself.”  

An awkward silence fell then, and Jane sighed.   _Never fails_.  Over the years, any time she mentioned, even in passing, about her dad or her mom and what their fates had been, something like this occurred.   _Time to switch things up a bit._  “So, Williams, got any hobbies?”

Williams snickered.  “I don’t suppose shooting geth counts?”

Jane glanced over at John who was clearly suppressing a laugh.  “Not this time, no,” Jane replied.

Sighing dramatically, Williams affected a small pout.  “Damn.  Well, can’t blame a girl for trying, right?  Aside from that, well … then I’d have to say … poetry.”  After a moment or two of silence, the Chief spoke up:

_“I am a part of all that I have met;_

_Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'_

_Gleams that untravell'd world, whose margin fades_

_For ever and for ever when I move._

_How dull it is to pause, to make an end.”_

Jane grinned as she listened, nodding a little as Williams recited the lines.  When the Chief finished, she remarked, “Tennyson, right?”

Williams seemed surprised.  “Uh, yeah.   _Ulysses_ ,” she added.  “One of my dad’s favorites.”

John chuckled.  “Jane likes poetry too,” he announced.

Jane stuck her tongue out in his direction.  “You just can’t keep any secrets, can you?” she demanded, though there was no heat in the words.

“Hey,” he protested, “I don’t know about that particular one, but there’s that one you like to recite to me all the time -”

“Hardly,” she interjected.  “And that would be Whitman.”

“ _Oh Captain, My Captain_ , by any chance?” Alenko asked.

Jane nodded.  “Always a favorite.”  Glancing down the length of the table, Jane asked, “Wrex, what about you?  Any krogan poets out there we should know about?”

The krogan looked over at John after finishing a mouthful of food.  “She’s joking, right?” he rumbled.

“Actually, no.”

“Heh.”  Wrex took another mouthful and chewed it, swallowing before he finally responded.  “The number of krogan poets out there is even fewer than the number of krogan ‘scientists’ working on a genophage cure.”

“Which is to say,” Garrus chimed in, “none.”

“Exactly.”

Turning her attention, Jane asked “What about you, Tali?  Do you have any hobbies?”

The quarian tapped her fingers on the tabletop for a moment, considering.  “I suppose you could say … working with engines.”

“But that’s work!” Williams protested.  “What do you do for _FUN_?”

Tali’s masked face turned towards each of them briefly.  “That’s what I do for fun, too,” she explained.  “I’ve always been fascinated by how things work.  The mechanics.  The processes.  Why does something do what it does?”  She shrugged.  

“I can understand that,” John told her.  “I’m the same.  I want to know what makes things ‘tick.’”

“When I was a kid,” Garrus offered, “I used to work on mods all the time.  Even put some of them to use when I was serving my time in the military.”

Williams turned towards the turian.  “You and I need to talk then,” she told him.  “I’ve got a few mods downstairs, but they certainly could use some … fine tuning, shall we say?”

Garrus nodded.  “I’d be glad to.”

“Got anything to add more kick to a shotgun?” Wrex asked.  

“Same here,” Tali chimed in.  When Wrex gave her a scowling look, Jane swore she could almost hear the huff in the quarian’s tone.  “What?  A girl’s gotta defend herself _some_ how!”

Amid chuckles and full out laughter, the conversation continued, now refocusing on weapons and mods and suggested tactics and all, Jane’s eyes met John’s across the table as she smiled.  It was then that he knew she’d planned this.  Or, at least planned it as well as she could have given the circumstances.  Get people talking, let them learn about each other, have them become comfortable around one another and then when it came to working together, things would be easier.  Smiling back, John moved his head a fraction of an inch in a nod.   _And this is why she is the Spectre_ , he realized.  Though it was doubtful that the rest of their mission would be this easy, at least things had gotten off to a good start.

  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay – I discovered I needed to organize my thoughts about this story a bit more than I had so far! What that comes down to is this: Destiny's Road is the first in three fics that will follow John and Jane Shepard through the events in game (and some author inspired and related ones). Destiny's Road will concentrate on events in Mass Effect; Destiny's Hand will focus on Mass Effect 2; and Destiny's Fate will focus on Mass Effect 3.
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy!

“Artemis Tau,” Jane mused softly over Joker’s shoulder as the _Normandy_ exited the Mass Relay and settled into the Sparta system.  “Named for the Greek goddess of forests and hills.”

“You’re not one of those book-wormy types, are you, Commander?  Always spouting off odd facts with the tagline, ‘anyone can always stand to learn something new?’”

A deep chuckle across the bridge rumbled for a moment before John spoke up.  “She’s always been a reader, Joker.”

“Knowledge is its own weapon,” Jane replied.  Glancing down at the helmsman, she switched back to the matter at hand, asking, “What do the preliminary scans show?”

Hands manipulating several different interfaces in quick succession, Joker retrieved a screen he now pushed far to the left for her to look at.  “There it is,” he told her.  “Five planets, two asteroid belts, crapton of room for chaos gone wild ….”

Jane patted his shoulder gently as she straightened, reaching over to pull out an additional interface screen with a mapped projection.  “No,” she told him firmly.

“Aww, c’mon, Commander,” the pilot pouted.  “I never get to have any fun.”

It took a few minutes, comparing the written information with the visual map, but she soon found what she was looking for.  Pointing, she told him, “That one.”

With an over exaggerated sigh, Joker pressed a few buttons.  “There.”  There was still a hint of a pout in his tone, but that was followed by a pause.  “Hmm, seems to be a general distress beacon emitting from the planet’s surface,” he told her after a moment.

Jane glanced over towards John.  “Our asari archaeologist?” she asked.

John frowned as he joined her and read over the information.  “If so, she’s not very good at hunting down Prothean ruins,” he observed.  “This planet’s mostly just a floating rock for interstellar target practice, from the looks of things.”

Jane nodded, agreeing silently.  This planet made meteor showers look as common as torrential downpours in a tropical forest.  “Still, we need to check out that distress beacon,” she replied.

“Agreed.  Who do you want to take?”

“Before you decide that,” Joker interjected, passing yet another data screen over for their perusal, “you might want to see this.”

Jane sighed as she read the information and heard John chuckling behind her.  Lifting her brow, she gazed back at him.  “Seriously?” she murmured.  “Do you know how much more time that will add to this trip?”

He grinned.  “Hey, _some_ one has to like doing that sort of thing,” he replied.

She responded by sticking her tongue out at him.  “You’re going to utterly _destroy_ my efficiency rating.  You do know that, don’t you?  Alright Joker, take us in to,” she checked the map again, “Edolus.  In order to use our time to its best advantage, while we’re groundside I want you and Pressly doing further scans of the other planets in the system.  We’ll contact you for pickup when we’re through.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the pilot replied.  “ETA: twenty minutes.”

Turning to her husband, Jane poked him in his chest and announced, “ _You_ get to lead the mineral-searching ground team.  Take Garrus and Tali with you.  Alenko, Williams, Wrex and I will head over to check out the distress beacon.”

His grin widened as he drew a hand up quickly to salute.  “Yes, ma’am!”  A moment later, he was walking down the hall towards the staircases leading below, no doubt planning to call together the ground team to head down to suit up before entering the Mako.  In the meantime, Jane had to brief Pressly on the variation in plans ….

  


~ 0 ~

  


“Commander …?”

Jane bit back a smile as she drove the Mako along, their current load half what it had been upon landing.  After making certain they could maintain communications with John’s team (the discovery that the constant meteor showers was affecting their ability to keep contact with the _Normandy_ an annoyance that would (hopefully) be remedied as soon as the ship was within range again), Jane had taken her team and headed off towards the distress beacon.  The terrain wasn’t the best.  However, she pointedly ignored the grumps and groans and protesting type noises coming from her squad as she drove along, instead offering, “Hey, trust me - I’m the better driving Shepard.”

“Oh God - if the Skipper’s driving is half as bad as his ability to find his way places, I can believe it!” Williams groaned.

“It is,” Alenko muttered tightly, his hand shooting out to grasp hold of the dashboard before him.

Jane chuckled softly while pulling to a slow crawl at the top of the latest rise.  “Had the opportunity to be on a ground team with him before, hmm, Alenko?”

Respectfully, Kaidan remained silent, intently staring at the radar screen before him.

“When am I going to get something to shoot at with this thing?”

Outright laughing now, Jane glanced back over her shoulder at the disgruntled krogan.  “Just hang on, Wrex,” she advised.  “We don’t know what we’re getting into down here.”

“There’s the beacon.”  Alenko’s voice pulled her attention forward once again.  

Eyeing the landscape before them, Jane frowned.  Quite suddenly, the land before them dropped off from hilly, almost mountain-esque type ridges into a flat and wide opened space.  And in the middle of it ….

“Damn.”

“Well said, Chief,” Jane echoed softly.  She sat there for another long moment, her lip pulled between her teeth, worrying it back and forth.   _Something isn’t right here …._  Her gut instinct - the same one that had kicked in back when she and Alenko had approached Dr. Michel’s medical clinic - was screaming at her.  She glanced over at the Staff Lieutenant.  “Are you picking up anything else, LT?”

He shook his head.  “No, ma’am.  Standard Alliance-issue distress beacon.  No specifics given at all regarding the nature of the emergency.”

Jane sighed, but Williams spoke up.  “Kahoku’s men, perhaps?  He said he’d sent them out this way, didn’t he?”

Jane nodded once.  “Possible, I suppose,” she agreed.   _But damn, I hope not._  

“If it is,” Wrex told them, “he’s not going to like the results.”  The krogan used the viewfinder of the Mako’s top loading cannon to look in closer.  “I see bodies lying on the ground, but there’s no movement.”

Releasing her lip from her teeth, Jane nodded again.  “That’s what I was afraid of.”  She sighed.  Wide open space.  Absolutely no signs of trouble other than the distress beacon, a clearly abandoned vehicle and a few bodies lying around.  Glancing over at Alenko, she murmured, “Trap?”

The Lieutenant nodded.  “That’s what I take from it,” he admitted.

“Who the hell would _do_ such a thing?” the Chief asked.  

Jane started the Mako forward slowly, her gut still jumping.  “I dunno, Chief,” she returned.  

The rumbling sound that began to fill the enclosed space a minute or two later had nothing to do with the Mako itself, but rather the laughter krogan manning the weapons.  “I do,” he told them as Jane brought the vehicle onto the flat surface.  

Jane was about to ask him what he meant when she felt the ground beneath them suddenly begin to churn.  Motion alarms began going off inside the vehicle and before she could even blink, she felt the Mako tossed up into the air. “Brace for impact!” she shouted just before they reconnected with the surface.

  


~ 0 ~

  


Even though he had his helmet on, Kaidan could feel blood trickling down the side of his head.  For the moment, though, that seemed to be the worst of it.  He knew an additional assortment of bruises would follow - he could already feel the ache in his shoulders from where the seatbelts had held him back against the force of the impact - but for now he would be alright.  “Williams?” he rasped out, reaching for the latch so he could get free.  “Wrex?  Commander?”

A soft and female sounding groan came from behind him where Williams had been sitting.  “I’m … okay, LT,” she managed after a moment, but he noted quickly she did not move.

The Mako had landed, miraculously enough, on its wheels, so as he broke loose from his restraints, Kaidan simply turned to face her.  “Broken bones?” he asked while bringing up his omni-tool and starting a medical scan.  “Anything serious?”  The program beeped its results a couple of moments later.  

“Nah.”  With each passing moment, Williams’ voice sounded stronger, he observed.  That could only be a good sign.  “I’ve had worse on a daily basis from my sisters back home.  Worry about the Commander and Wrex,” she told him.  

The ground beneath them began to rumble again, though not as strongly as before.  Kaidan’s eyes drifted beyond Williams to the red suited krogan lying on the floor.  “Can you check on him while I check the Commander?”

“I can try,” Williams replied.

While she did that, Kaidan moved over beside Shepard.  “Commander,” he called out, his omni-tool beginning a scan of her injuries.  “Commander, can you hear -”

“Got it, Lieutenant,” she murmured groggily, her voice slow as it responded.  

Kaidan scanned the report his omni-tool brought up.  “Slow and easy, Commander,” he advised, reaching out to assist her with the latch to her belt.  “You’ve got -”

“I’m good,” she insisted, cutting him off as she began to move forward, though she was holding her left arm close to her side.  

Kaidan frowned.  The way in which she moved almost too careful; her arm held tightly against her side, too familiar.  “Commander,” he pointed out quietly so as not to alert Williams or the now grumbling krogan that anything was out of the ordinary, “you’ve got a dislocated shoulder.”

Jane winced as she turned in her seat, finally facing him fully.  “Well … aware of that, LT,” she bit out through obvious pain.  

She began to extend her arm slowly, just off to the side to assess the damage for herself when the ground began rumbling yet again beneath them, this time with more force than before.  Jane blinked back another wave of pain as the Mako lurched suddenly.  Kaidan’s arm shot out to help keep her from falling off the chair, but what caught his attention more than the ground shaking around them was the sudden loud bellow from the back of the vehicle.  

“What … the hell …?”

Ignoring the Commander’s exclamation, instinct had Kaidan’s defenses rising, the tell-tale bluish haze of his biotics beginning to shimmer and form around him as he moved between the Commander and whatever threat the clearly angered krogan might impose.  Williams, he saw, was pushed roughly aside, though she didn’t seem too shaken as Wrex launched himself to his feet, his hand reaching for his gun.  But where Kaidan had thought he might end up having to meet the krogan’s gaze and hopefully talking the mercenary down from whatever his intentions might be, he found instead … empty air.  From one moment to the next, Wrex barrelled through the door to the Mako, lumbering down to the ground (did Kaidan simply imagine the shaking caused by his landing?) and then turning to rush headlong out towards the open space before them all the while roaring one loud, stinging battle cry after another.

“Jesus Christ!”

Kaidan’s eyes found Williams’ again.  “You okay?”  He moved to the side when he felt the Commander’s hand come to rest on his shoulder, pressing firmly there.  Turning back, he murmured, “Sorry, Commander.  Let’s get you taken ….”

The Mako rocked sharply again, nearly falling over to the side this time causing all three of them to lose balance.  Williams’ string of curses from the back assured Kaidan that she was alright, but a sharp cry of pain from the Commander as the Mako landed on all wheels yet again brought her injury to the forefront.  He had to help her get that arm back in place before anything else.  

“Commander, I need to -”

She winced, but nodded.  “Do it,” she rasped.  “Quick.”  

More roaring outside, this time from a different source, had all three hesitating and glancing out through the virtual windows.

“Holy shit!”

“Williams, get out there and help him,” the Commander ordered.

“On it, Commander!”

Kaidan yanked his gaze back to the Commander.  “Ma’am, I -”

“Do it,” she ordered, turning so he could move her left arm as necessary.  “If we don’t do it now, I’ll pay for it later.  I know that from experience.”

Kaidan sighed.  “Right.”  Moving quickly but carefully, he took position, lining her arm up and making certain everything was done properly before he moved.  To her credit, he noted to himself, she made not a sound, said not a word.  Once he had it back in place as well as he could, he found the first aid kit and strapped her arm to her torso as best he could.  As far as field dressings went, it likely wasn’t the best plan of action.  However, it would have to do.  Proper treatment would have to wait until they were back on the ship.

“Let’s … go,” she finally told him after he’d stowed the medical kit back in it’s place.  

“But, ma’am …?”  He caught a glare of anger and irritation, though he wasn’t certain if it was directed at him or just as a result of the pain of the injury, and so he backed off.  

“Go help Wrex and Williams,” she told him.  “I’ll be right behind you.”

Reaching for his assault rifle, Kaidan exited the Mako while wondering just where reality had stopped and insanity had taken over ….

  


~ 0 ~

  


Jane stumbled as she exited the Mako, but she maintained her balance by leaning against the vehicle.  As she watched Alenko head off to assist the krogan and the Chief in their battle against the thresher maw, she tapped at her comm link.  “John?”

There was a burst of static, a pause that seemed to carry on into next week, and then the hauntingly familiar tones.  “I read you.”

“We’re barely two clicks north-northwest of you,” she yelled, hoping her voice would carry over the background noises surrounding her.  “We -”

“Jane, what the hell -”

“- need you here,” she continued without interruption.  “ASAP!”

“On our way.”

Turning towards the battle before her, Jane slowly made her way towards her team.  She might not be able to use a weapon at the moment, but she _could_ use her biotics, for whatever good that might do.  

Wrex, as Jane was coming to realize, was doing what he did best: getting up close and personal.  And while Alliance knowledge of these beasts was limited at best, the krogan seemed to have some specific ideas on what would work, suggesting that he had more extensive experience with them.  She made a mental note to ask him about that later.  In the meantime, armed with his shotgun and his biotics, the krogan battlemaster put on a display that Jane found she could only admire.  

Williams was putting in a good effort too, though she remained somewhat back from the maw, trying to stay out of immediate proximity if Jane had to guess.  SOP for Alliance trained marines.  Staying in the Mako might have been better, though, as she heard a loud and thoroughly angry protest escape the Gunnery Chief’s lips a moment later and acid from the maw splattered onto her armor and ate through the layers.  

Alenko had moved around to the right, Jane noticed.  He, like Wrex, was utilizing a combined technique of biotics peppered in with bursts from his assault rifle.  The one benefit to his current position, Jane could see, was that he was out of immediate threat of damage from the maw with his position behind the creature.  Which was good, as his armor - like her own - was much lighter weight than either Williams or Wrex.  Jane doubted it would stand up well to a maw’s acid attack.

Jane moved in as close as she dared before she began her limited attacks.   _Your are only as strong as your weakest link_ , she recalled one of her DIs telling her years before.   _Well, today I’m the weakest link in this chain_ , she mused.  Not only could she not use her weapons - possibly her pistol if absolutely necessary, but she had little doubt that such a tiny weapon would do no damage at all to a thing this huge - but she was limited to only a few biotic moves.  Each move required a mnemonic, and her training had prepared her to make such mnemonics with either right or left hand.  She was therefore limited to the moves she knew with her right hand.  Growling out anger and frustration at such limitations, Jane prepared herself to use her Throw and Lift as best she could and hoped it would be enough ….

  


~ 0 ~

  


Duck.  Shoot.  Duck again.  Roll right.  Shoot again.  Drop and roll left.  Shoot _again_.  Repeat.

Ashley had about had it with this thing.  She’d never met a thresher maw before, but it had become instantly clear that Wrex _had_.  In between battle cries and attacks, she could hear the krogan shouting.  It wasn’t always clear what he was saying, though she heard definite challenges in his tone.

 _Do maws even get that?_ she couldn’t help but wonder while ducking, dropping and rolling back to her right this time.

When checking upon Wrex back in the Mako, Ash could admit she’d been a bit worried at first.  The krogan had been out cold.  She’d seen no signs of breathing, had no way of knowing if he’d even been alive until he’d begun grumbling and then suddenly and nearly violently bolted upwards, bellowing louder than a Canadian moose in heat (okay, _that_ she’d have to tell Alenko later, just for the look on his face) before ramming his way out of the vehicle.  He hadn’t paused or hesitated or slowed down in any way, despite having just been knocked cold (could krogans be completely knocked cold?).  Nope.  All he’d done was sniff out the battle like a dog did his bone.  Ash would have said she’d been impressed …

… until the Commander had ordered her out after him and then she’d had to face what he was facing.  

But at least Wrex seemed to have a clue what he was fighting.  Oh, she knew it was a thresher maw, but Alliance intel on these creatures was severely limited.  They’d only found out about them with the debacle on Akuze not even … what?  Six years before?  Seven?

Wrex bellowed louder still and Ash saw Alenko ducking behind the maw, so she rolled to her left before dropping to a knee and firing off a couple of shots with her assault rifle.  Up ahead of her, she noted the sort of blue glimmery, shimmery aura that Wrex took on as he flared up his biotics - she was getting used to having this element available in a battle now that she’d been in a few fights with the Commander and Alenko.  She didn’t know much about it, not being one herself or having served with  many over the years, but the fact that the maw seemed to scream out in some sort of reaction - pain, perhaps? - was enough for her.  

Until she was knocked over by the backwash of an energy wave, the reverberating echoes of an explosive blast of some sort making her ears ring….

  


~ 0 ~

  


_In theory_ , facing a thresher maw on foot, face to face was feasible.  But _theory_ often gave way to altogether different _facts_ and Kaidan wasn’t quite relegate himself to becoming just a number listed in a report to be filed away for the ages.

Not yet, anyway.

 _Besides,_ he told himself as he paused a heartbeat or three to spurt off another couple of rounds from his weapon, _I’ve gotten out of worse situations than this before._

That he’d dealt with that particular ‘situation’ by allowing his control free reign was something he forced to the back of his mind just now.  He wasn’t about to revisit _that_ all over again.  Not at this stage of the game.

Kaidan saw Williams go down suddenly and prepared to move back around so that the maw could view him as a target and thereby giving her time to recover.  Belatedly, however, he realized it had been a controlled move.  From his right, he heard Wrex bellowing, the reports of his shotgun echoing among the shrill roars of the maw above them.  Taking the moment offered by the krogan as an opportunity, he opened fire from the maw’s opposite side.  

Then again ….

 _In theory_ , his brain started reciting once again as the flash of power came flying in immediately after Wrex threw up a Warp _, the application of certain types of biotic attacks in conjunction with others should resulting in an explosion of force._

“Stay down!” he shouted at Williams just before he felt himself thrown backwards by the raw power of residual explosive energy.

  


~ 0 ~

  


John didn’t waste time glancing back for his companions.  From the moment he’d ordered Garrus and Tali to follow, they’d kept as quick a pace as they could across the terrain.  John could admit he wasn’t surprised that Garrus was able to keep up.  He was fairly familiar turian culture, in how they began military service at age fifteen.  Garrus might have been in service with C-Sec when they met, but he was still in good shape and remained within a step or two of the N7 the entire way.  

And then there was Tali.  Intelligent and yet spunky as hell, John was continuously finding one reason after another to like the young quarian.  Her knowledge of ship engines came close to surpassing the best the Alliance had.  Her resolute outlook on life in general, and the state of the quarians more specifically was something he found he could admire greatly.  And then there was her choice of weapons.  Already, they had taken opportunity to discuss at length the benefits of various types of shotguns, mods and other adjustments to their individual weapons.  The only other one of their squadmates who used one on a regular enough basis and occasionally gave his input into the discussion was ….

_“I am Urdnot Wrex!”_

John heard the outraged krogan bellow as he slowed his steps and crested the top of the rise.  The view before them dropped suddenly and opened wide before them.  

“Spirits!” Garrus rasped in stunned awe as he came to a stop beside John.  

“Keelah!”  Tali’s echoing exclamation confirmed that she had indeed kept the pace.  Then a moment later, her arm shot out, pointing across in front of John.  “There!”

John’s eyes followed, eyes marking the line of extension from Tali’s fingers out towards center … coming to rest on the scene before them.  He couldn’t see the details from their current position, but it was clear that Jane and her squad were fighting for their lives.  “Come on!” he shouted over the shrieking wail of the creature before them.  Training identified the beast, of course, but for one who had never seen a thresher maw in person before, it was an awe inspiring sight.  

They were nearly there, John noticed, and he had just spotted his wife stumbling off to his right, falling hard to her knees as she used one of her trusted biotic moves … but the explosion of power and sound and resultant shock wave of energy taking down nearly everyone in the process was unexpected.  Close enough that he caught the tail end of the fading shock, John belatedly realized that the maw had fallen backwards, landing with a thunderous crash and causing the ground to shake violently around them.  

Turning to Garrus and Tali, he ordered, “Go check on Alenko, Williams and Wrex,” before he hurried to Jane’s side.  

Before he reached her, John recognized that something was wrong.  Her left arm was crudely strapped to her torso.  “Jane!”

Dazed green eyes turned towards him.  “You … missed all the fun …,” she gasped, dropping into his arms a moment later.

“What happened?”

“Maw,” she told him.  “Flipped the Mako.”  Jane coughed, groaning softly and folding in on herself at the pain this caused her shoulder.  “Dislocated my shoulder, too.”

John grimaced, though he didn’t let her see his reaction.  “Yeah, kinda figured that out when I saw it strapped,” he told her.  Glancing around, he saw Wrex wandering over to investigate the remnants of the thresher maw.  Tali was assisting Williams to her feet, and Garrus appeared to be having an in depth discussion with Alenko about … well, something John couldn’t decipher from the hand motions from this distance.  If it was important, they would inform him later, he supposed.  

A second scan of the area and John realized that there were additional bodies, other equipment.  “Tali!”  He hailed the quarian and gestured towards the transmitter.  She nodded and both she and Williams headed over to investigate.  “Kahoku’s men?” he asked, his attention dropping back to his wife.

Jane took a deep breath and nodded before pushing herself back from his chest.  Carefully, she drew a knee up, leaning weight upon it while at the same time holding onto his shoulder and pushing upwards.  “Seems like,” she grunted as she moved.  

John followed her up, remaining steady and in place as long as she needed to lean against him.  “I’m good,” she finally told him, offering a weak smile of reassurance, but a smile nonetheless.

Garrus and Alenko crossed to join Tali and Williams near the other vehicle, the turian pausing to investigate one of the bodies along the way.  “Commander?” he called out after a moment, his eyes finding Jane’s.  “I think you’ll want to see this.”

Jane darted a quick look up at John who nodded and followed her over.  “What is it?” she asked.

Garrus gently turned the body, pointing to a spot on the back of the neck.  Jane’s brow lifted at the implication as her eyes met his.  The turian nodded before rising to check the other bodies.  Once completed, he returned, announcing, “It was a trap, Commander.  I’d say from the evidence surrounding us, these two soldiers here,” he pointed to the two nearest the transmitter, “were deliberately shot and left, the transmitter broadcasting it’s distress call.  The others,” he pointed to several others over beside the broken down vehicle that showed obvious signs of damage, “were lured in by the transmitter.”

Jane glanced over at John.  “You know the Admiral better than I do,” she told him.  

John shook his head.  “He’s not going to take this well,” he replied.  “Beyond that … I just don’t know.  He didn’t tell you what they were out here for?”

Jane shook her head.  “Just that they were on a recon mission.”  Sighing softly, she stared off into the distance, her gaze unfocused as she thought things over.  “We’ll need to go back and speak with him about this,” she decided.  “Sooner rather than later, I expect.”

On the far side of the clearing, John saw Alenko heading towards the Mako where they had left it.  Hoping the Lieutenant was going to make the call to the _Normandy_ , John glanced back at his wife.  “Sooner as in, we give up looking for Dr. T’Soni to do so, or do you want to complete that mission first?”

“We’re here, right?” Williams’ voice broke in as she joined them.  Looking over at Jane, she added, “Tali has disconnected the distress signal, Commander.  No more luring in unwitting souls like the Sirens of Anthemoessa.”

“Indeed.”  

A shout from across the way had Jane turning to find Alenko waving them over.  “I got a hold of the _Normandy_ ,” he announced.  “They should be here to pick us up in about fifteen minutes.”

Jane nodded.  “Good.  Let’s get ready to depart then.”  As the others withdrew, gathering up weapons and other gear they did not want left behind, Jane took one more long look out over the scene before them and wondered just how in the hell she was going to come up with a way to describe what had just happened.

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

“But, doctor -”

Karin Chakwas turned to stare down her patient’s protests.  “Absolutely not, Commander,” she enunciated clearly.  “It has been less than a week since you injured your arm, at this time I am not prepared to give you medical clearance.”

Not one for open displays of ill temperament, Jane simply clenched her right hand into a tight fist as her eyes narrowed further.  Words would have to be her weapon of choice in this battle.  “Doctor, I _have_ to go on this mission.”

The older woman shook her head.  “No, Commander, you do not.”

“As skilled as you might be, doctor, I do not think your abilities in the field are anything in comparison to -”

“Commander,” Chakwas insisted, her tone gentling a little bit but still filled with warning, “if you wish to be of any use out on the battlefield, you must give yourself the time to heal.  Now, I know you have been doing what you can to that end of things, and you _are_ healing rather well, all things considered.  However, nothing can replace the fact that you still need more time.  Sit this mission out.  Let someone else lead it.  Because I can guarantee you, if you do not do so, you will not be leading the mission to find Dr. T’Soni when _that_ time arrives!”

Rolling her eyes, Jane bit back a grumble.  She knew the doctor had every right to ground her because of her injury, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.  Finding a way to refrain from pounding her fist on the doctor’s desk in an expression of that frustration and anger, she turned to exit the medical bay instead.  Belatedly, as she was just stepping outside of the room, she called, back, “Thank you for your time, doctor.”

Venturing across the deck, Jane ducked inside the cabin she and John shared.  He wasn’t there at the moment, which was just as well, so she chose to lie down for a short while before it was her duty to take over in the duty shift in the CIC.  A short nap, as awkward as it would be with her arm still in the sling the doctor was making her wear, would still be better than pacing the halls and annoying the rest of the crew to pass the time.  

  


~ 0 ~

  


John entered the cabin as quietly as he could.  Dr. Chakwas had messaged him a short time before to inform him of her decision as well as the Spectre’s reaction to that decision.  Though it had been a guess on his part, he had suspected Jane would retreat to their cabin.  Where else would she be when she was nowhere else to be found on the ship?  And ever since they’d met when they were kids, Jane had often gone in search of a darkened room in which to think whenever she was troubled.  By this point in their lives, it was usually the first place he would look for her whenever she wasn’t by his side.

A moment of nostalgia caught him as he spotted her on the far side of the room lying on the bed.  She was partially sprawled in a diagonal fashion across the mattress, an awkward position given her injury, but he knew she preferred lying on her stomach as she slept and this was the closest that she could come to such a position right now.  Still, with sleep softening her facial features, he found it to be quite the endearing picture.  He was tempted to capture a photograph of her with his omni-tool - just something he could have for those times in future when they’d be separated by duty once again - but in the end, he decided he didn’t want to face her wrath when she found out.  

And if there was one thing about Jane, she _ALWAYS_ found out.  That red hair and her temper were a force to be reckoned with for anyone who  just happened to set her off ….

“Hey.”

John found a smile as he heard her voice, groggy and rough with sleep.  Crossing to sit beside her, he dropped a hand to brush the loose strands of copper away from her eyes.  “Hey,” he replied.  “How are you feeling?”

Jane slowly moved to a semi-reclined position.  Sighing, she gave him a dry look.  “How should one who’s been grounded feel?” she countered.

John cocked his head to the side.  Though he already knew the answer, he pretended otherwise to see what she would be willing to tell him.  “Dr. Chakwas?”

Jane nodded.  “Basically told me that if I want to be a part of the mission when we find our elusive archaeologist, I need to stay ship bound this trip.”  Her eyes rose to meet his and John was not surprised to find a hint of mischief twinkling there.  

“Why do I get the impression this mission’s not all it seems?” he asked.

“Now, why would you be thinking that?”

“Inside source,” he returned immediately, winking.  “A little birdie told me.”

He saw her smile turn to something slightly more amused as she chuckled softly.  So far, so good.  “Uh huh.”

When she began to sit up, he moved so she had the space she needed.  It was only as she reached a hand out to him that he pulled her the rest of the way to her feet.  “So … if you’re staying shipside …?”

He saw her lips tilt on the right side, the smirk she gave him causing his own grin to form.  “Not very subtle there, John,” she murmured.

“Subtlety’s above my pay grade,” he replied.  She laughed a bit more fully this time.  “Seriously, though.  If you’re not going, how do you want to do this?”

He followed her across the room as she stepped in front of the mirror and ran a hand through her hair in an attempt to tame the wildness that sleep had caused.  “You,” she replied, her eyes meeting his in the reflective glass.  “Who else?”

“Well, I wasn’t going to assume ….”

Another laugh.  Turning, she leaned up to brush a light kiss across his lips - a move that he had half been expecting for a few minutes now.  Sliding an arm around her waist, he held her there for a few seconds longer than absolutely necessary.  Marriage had it’s privileges, after all.  

“I’m on duty in -” she glanced at her omni-tool, “ten.  Let’s head on up and pull up what information we have available.”

“We entered the Macedon system about a half hour ago,” he told her.  “Joker ought to have something ready by now, even if it’s only the basics.”

They made their way to the bridge, passing through the CIC where Jane relieved Pressly from his watch before they continued on to visit with Joker.  The pilot was ready and waiting for them, gesturing over towards one of the nearby seats.  “Information’s all there for you, Commander,” he told Jane.  “We’re about to begin running more detailed scans of the planets.”

“Which one first?” Jane asked as she slid into the seat.  John moved to stand over her.  They knew which planet they were looking for.  

“Fargeluse,” the pilot replied.  “Hell of a name for a planet if you ask me, though.”

Jane glanced up at John, mirth dancing in her eyes.  John grinned back.  “I’ll be sure to advise the Council in my next report,” she countered lightly.

Turning her full attention to the screens before her, Jane began reading.  It was a few minutes before John’s arm reached across her shoulder and pointed towards the center of the map.  “There it is.  Sharjila.”

Jane sat back in her seat, good hand resting at the side of her chair and tapping along the arm in a rhythmic pattern as she thought.  There was still something about this mission that bothered her.

“What?”  Her eyes lifted to meet his again in question.  “You’re getting your, ‘I don’t like this,’ look again,” John pointed out.

“I am not,” she muttered, turning back to face the console.

John leaned over, his chin coming to rest gently above her right shoulder so that he only had to murmur to be heard.  “How long have I known you?”

Sighing, Jane rolled her eyes.  “John, don’t start that again,” she advised.

“Answer the question.”

“No.”

“Because you know I’m right.”

Turning, she faced him once more.  “And just how do you figure that?” she asked.  “There’s nothing wrong with being cautious about this mission.  Especially given the dicey nature by which the information came to us to begin with.”  Which was true enough.  The request, a private message that had been sent on an encrypted channel, had come from an asari back on the Citadel.  Though not one with whom either Shepard was familiar, it had been vague enough in nature to set Jane’s teeth on edge.   _A kidnapped sister.  Mercenaries.  A ransom paid but no one released._

“You are being overly cautious,” John returned.  “Probably because the doctor has grounded you.  You can’t tell me you wouldn’t be raring to go if you were at 100%.”

But Jane wasn’t so sure.  Out of the two of them, she might be the one who could deal with the political side of things better (she had no doubts that had played a huge part in why she had been selected as a candidate for Spectre), but when it came right down to it, Jane hated politics.  The lies, the back handed dealings, the double talk.  All of it.  Over the years, it had jaded her view of such things, too.  “Just … be careful, okay?” she finally responded.  “There’s something about this one that -”

John’s hand at her shoulder squeezed gently.  “There’s _always_ something about each mission for you,” he murmured.  “That’s the nature of a cynic.  That’s also why you always come back safe.”  Straightening behind her, he added, “How many do you want me to take?”

“You and three others,” Jane replied immediately.  He might be changing the topic slightly, but she wasn’t falling for the distraction.  And there was also the fact she had been giving this some thought ever since the message had come through.  “Who do you have in mind?”

John considered for a moment.  “Well, I was thinking a little bit of everything, just to make sure we have our bases covered since we have no clear idea of what we’ll find down there.”

“Except for the minerals,” Jane muttered.  

John’s chuckle wasn’t exactly appreciated, but it _was_ expected.  “Except for them,” he agreed.  “You know, one of these days, you’re going to have to tell me the story behind why you hate having to do those.”

Jane turned and flashed him a weak smile.  “You’ll have to get me drunk first,” she retorted.  “And distracted enough to forget why I don’t tell you.”

John winked as he turned to leave.  “I can arrange that.”

As he departed the bridge, Jane sank back in her chair.  “Joker, after we finish with Fargeluse, head on towards Sharjila.  We might as well get this over with.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Rising from her seat, Jane traced her husband’s path through to the CIC.  Once they reached the planet, it was going to make for a long day.  She just hoped she could find some sort of distraction from her worries while he and the rest of the team was planetside.

  


~ 0 ~

  


Some hours later, Jane stood off by the lockers as the others prepared for departure.  Sharjila posed a level one pressure hazard, so extra care was taken to make certain every seal on everyone’s armor was in operating order.  

“Alright, mount up.”

John’s call for his squad to board the Mako had Jane stepping forward.  “Leave an open comm,” she advised.  “I’ll monitor your progress from the bridge.”

“Yes, Mom.”

Jane rolled her eyes, but she managed a small smile.  Barely.  She hated being left behind like this, and he knew it.  She also wouldn’t deny that niggling doubt in the back of her mind.  She was missing something somewhere, she just knew it.

“We’ll be back before you know it, Dahlia Dantius in tow,” he promised just before ducking inside the vehicle.  

Jane peeked in, her eyes falling upon the members of his team.  It was a group with a relatively safe balance of firepower from Williams, tech from John, and biotics combined with combat expertise from Alenko and Wrex.  It had the makings of a good team.  “Good luck,” she told them before ducking back out and sealing the door.  A moment later, she pounded her hand on the side of the vehicle twice to alert them they were good to go just before she began backing out of the way.  By the time she reached the elevator and had stepped inside, the shuttle door was opening to allow the Mako to exit out into Sharjila’s atmosphere.

On her way back to the bridge, Jane ducked through the galley to make herself a cup of tea first.  She forced herself to do it properly - heating the water, taking the time to scoop up the tea into the infuser and set it aside, searching out the cream and sugar.  Fifteen minutes later, she continued her journey upwards, mug in hand.  

Slipping into the co-pilot’s seat on the bridge, Jane adjusted the comm volume so she could hear the chatter below.  

_“Alenko, get the beacon out and set it.”_

_“On it, Commander.”_

There was a moment of crackle filled silence, the static almost friendly in it’s familiarity before John’s voice could be heard again.

_“Wrex, I want you and Williams patrolling the perimeter.”_

Jane presumed the grunting noise she heard was Wrex acknowledging the request.  A few minutes passed in which Jane sipped at her tea quietly.  She was just a bit surprised that the pilot wasn’t cracking his usual jokes and all, but given the state of her nerves at the moment - still flittering and fluttering just below the surface - it was likely for the best.

_“What’s that sound?”_

Williams’ question pulled Jane’s attention back to the connection.  Not for the first time, Jane wished the comm links provided a wider access to the surrounding area, not just what the people using them had to say.

_“Sounds like some sort of animal.”_

_“I suppose you might have come across some strange ones over the years, huh?”_

The rumble of Wrex’s laughter had Jane smiling just a bit.  Damn, but that krogan seemed unflappable.  Despite being shaken up at the time, Jane remembered fairly well just how fast and … enthusiastic he had been against that thresher maw.  Boy, that had been a sight to watch ….

_“Wrex, Williams - let’s go.”_

John’s voice sounded, well, normal.  Jane sighed softly.   _As it should_ , she thought.  No, her concerns were not over the mineral searches or the like, but rather what they might face when they reached the merc hideout that Dantius had given them the coordinates of.  Something still rankled with that, but Jane couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“Everything alright, Commander?”

Jane put tremendous effort into not jumping in her seat at the sudden arrival of Garrus on the bridge.  She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts, in the attention she was paying to the comm links, that she’d pushed everything else out of her mind.  Not a very safe plan she knew, even if she was well protected aboard her own ship.  “Just monitoring the mission,” she assured him while skipping around the question.  

“You seem a bit … distracted.”

Jane blinked and turned to face the turian.  Just how long had he been standing there?  Their eyes locked and held for a long moment, until finally, Jane nodded slightly, conceding … something to him.  Exactly what that was, though, she didn’t quite know.  “It’s nothing,” she told him finally, though she wasn’t certain she sounded convinced.  

However, if he thought so, he said nothing about it.  Though, he _did_ remain standing just inside the entryway.  

The crackling of the comm link broke the silence, the voices of the ground team breaking through, but from the sounds of it they were just investigating the landing site of a crashed probe.  Jane could afford to take a few moments away from that.  Making a decision, she rose from her seat and led Garrus down the hallway and into the CIC.  “Garrus, have you ever come across the name ‘Dantius’ before?” she asked him after a time.

“Hmm.”  He was silent for a moment as he gathered his thoughts.  “Rather prominent asari family, I believe.  Built up their name around politics and some sort of family business.”  He paused and Jane glanced over to see him scratch at his mandible with one of his talons.  “If I remember correctly, Nassana Dantius is currently serving as a diplomatic emissary on the Citadel.”

Jane nodded.  His information seemed to coincide with what she knew so far.  Good.

“Might I ask why?”

Jane smiled crookedly.  Apparently, she’d triggered his investigative senses if she was reading him right.  Or maybe it was just plain curiosity.  Either way, she supposed sharing the rest with him wouldn’t hurt.  After all, if she had worried about that, she would not have begun down this line of discussion at all.  And there was always the chance he might offer up something she hadn’t thought of.  

“Nassana Dantius contacted me just before we departed the Sparta system,” Jane explained.  “Something about her sister, Dahlia, having been taken hostage by a group of mercs on Sharjila.  Nassana said she’d paid the ransom requested, but the mercs who took her had not released her as promised and she asked if we would look into it - _quietly_ \- for her.”  

“Quietly,” he echoed.  Again, Garrus thought for a long moment before nodding.  “Makes sense, I guess.  I could see why she might reach out to you, as a Spectre, I mean.”

“Oh?”  That caught her attention.

“Well, she is a diplomat.  If she were to approach C-Sec, the Council or anyone else who operates out of the Citadel, questions might arise.  Questions that might suggest she is a security risk or something.”  He paused again.  “My guess would be that she presumed you, being a new Spectre and all, wouldn’t necessarily know of this the side effects she would have to face otherwise.”  He shrugged.  “It’s just a guess on my part.”

“It might be a guess,” Jane added quietly, “but she likely doesn’t know I have a former C-Sec investigator working with me either.”  She sighed and felt her gut kicking back into high gear again.  “Dammit!”

“One who knows and can advise you on standard procedures,” he agreed.  “Should I assume by your reaction that you don’t fully believe what she told you?”

Another sigh and Jane turned to start back up towards the bridge.  “Safe bet,” she told him.  

“Commander, we don’t know for a fact that -”

Jane halted mid-stride and turned back to face him.  “Maybe it’s a rather prejudicial view unique to humans,” she admitted, “but the way I see it, politicians are politicians the galaxy over.  And through my own personal experiences, I know you can’t trust politicians further than you can throw them.”

“Throw them?” he echoed.  His blinking clearly indicated that he did not understand the reference, but Jane gave him points for trying.  “And that means … you don’t believe her?” he hedged.

“Exactly.”  Spinning back around, she hurried to Joker’s side.  “Joker, we need to get word to them that -”

“They’re fighting their way inside, Commander,” the pilot announced.

Grinding her teeth together, Jane fought to bite back a curse as she dropped into the co-pilot’s seat once again.

_“Wrex, we need cover over here!” John ordered.  It was quickly followed by some undecipherable shouts.  “Move it!”_

_“Skipper, I’m fine.  Just slap some medi-gel on it and -”_

_“Already done, Williams.”   Alenko’s voice sounded calm and controlled._

_“See, Skipper?  All good.”_

_“Wrex!”_

Jane recognized the hint of frustration in John’s tone.  It was subtle, perhaps more just the stress of battle than actual frustration, but she heard it there, embedded, but there.  

_“There are two snipers up top,” Alenko announced.  “They keep ducking back down behind the edge of the wall.”_

_“I’ve got them.”_

For the first time in the battle, Jane actually heard Wrex say something.  She also heard frustration give way to an exasperated sigh.  

_“Wait!  We don’t know what else -  Dammit, Wrex!”_

The krogan’s deep chuckle reverberated across the link.  

A movement at her left had Jane glancing over to see that Garrus had followed her into the bridge to listen as well.  Their eyes met and held for a moment.  “Krogan can be stubborn,” Garrus observed dryly.  “Wrex more so than most.”

Jane snorted.  “ _Now_ you tell me,” she replied.

_“There she is!”_

_“Williams, take the shot,” John shouted.  “Alenko, can’t you keep her in place or something?”_

_“I could,” Alenko bit out, the sounds of shots ringing out a second later, “but where’s the challenge in that?”_

_“Really, LT?  You want to play funny man right -”_

_“It’s okay, Skipper,” Williams assured him.  “I’ve got this.”  The loud report of a sniper rifle rang out a moment later followed by a whoop of victory from Williams and a  disappointed bellow of a krogan.  “You don’t get ALL the kills, Wrex!”_

As she felt the tension slowly begin to ease from her shoulders, Jane had to admit that at the very least, their ground crew had senses of humor in the battlefield to match the two N7s.  

“Well,” Garrus mused quietly, “that was interesting.”  

Jane actually chuckled.  “Yeah, I was beginning to suspect Williams had a competitive streak in her.”

In the background, they could hear the ground team talking among themselves.  But it wasn’t until she heard her name called over the comm that the Commander’s full attention was brought back to current events.

“Jane.”

Leaning over, she pressed the button to reply.  “Go ahead, John.  I’m here.”

“You were right.”

Sighing, she pressed the button and told him, “Acknowledged.  We’ll discuss it when you are back on board.”

  


~ 0 ~

  


John wasn’t surprised to see Jane waiting for them as he climbed out of the Mako.  If anything, he was ready for her.  Handing over the information he had taken from the safe inside the merc base, he informed her, “Dahlia Dantius wasn’t a victim here - she was a slaver.  She _ran_ the group.”

Jane’s eyes narrowed as she scanned through the information.  “Just lovely,” she muttered.

John moved across to set his weapons on the workbench before removing his armor.  “Looks like their little operation was beginning to cause Nassana some personal heartburn, too,” he added.  

Jane nodded.  “Alright.  Go get cleaned up.  I’ll catch up with you later for a more formal debrief.”  Her eyes were blazing just a bit brighter with anger as she looked over at him.  “I have a call to make.”

John was watching her stalk across the shuttle bay towards the elevator when he heard Williams step up behind him.  “Wow.  Don’t think I ever want to be on _her_ bad side, huh, Skipper?”

John chuckled, finally removing the rest of his armor.  “Trust me, Chief, I can tell you from experience - you _don’t_.”  Alenko laughed as he set his assault rifle and pistol beside Shepard’s, but otherwise said nothing.

Pushing those memories aside for the moment, John headed up to the showers then to his cabin and finally, after realizing that Jane was still on her call with Dantius, to stand lurking right outside the conference room.  On the other side of the door, he could occasionally pick up the sound of a raised voice, but nothing more clear than that.  

The sound of the door hissing as it opened had John straightening a moment or two later.  Blue eyes met green as he asked, “Everything go okay?”

The soft snort she let out was one of the tell-tale signs that her current level of cynicism was high.  “As expected,” she muttered.

“That good, huh?”

She turned to face him just before the staircase leading down to the crew deck.  “Well, I managed to work it out a bit to our advantage,” she admitted.  “In the end, I suppose it’s a fair trade, but that manipulative bitch damned well better hope we never run into each other again, because if we ever do ….”

John chuckled and followed her back below deck.  “She would be a fool to tempt you twice,” he pointed out.  “And I’ve no doubt at all you made that clear to her.”

“Here’s hoping.”

John followed her into the mess area where Alenko and Williams were sitting, trays that had at one point been piled high with food were now nearly empty before them.  John waved them off when they began to rise.  Following Jane over to the galley, he grabbed a tray of food for himself and a cup of coffee while she made herself some tea.  "Want to talk about it?"

"Not particularly," she responded, "but I probably should."  Besides, she reasoned, forewarned was forearmed.

They both took a seat at the table, and while John tucked into his post-mission meal, Jane messaged Tali, Garrus and Wrex to join them.  With their arrival, she then set out explaining the situation - what she and Garrus had discussed, how it tied in with what the ground team had uncovered, and finally bringing in the conversation she’d had with Nasanna.  

“In case it hasn’t been made clear,” Jane concluded as she looked at each one of the steadily, “I will make it so right now.  I’ve no doubt we will be running into others who, for whatever reason, believe that I can be manipulated into doing what they want.  Whether this is simply because I’m human or because I’m the first human Spectre or even because they think they have the upper hand doesn’t matter.  This will _not_ be the case.  Is that clear?”  Six heads nodded.  “Does anyone here take issue with that?”  

John took a quick look around at the others and noted shock and bewilderment from most.  “We’ve got your six, Commander,” John reassured her.  The others nodded their agreement as well.

“Good.”  Jane’s darker, sharper mood finally eased as she cracked a bit of a smile.  “Alright then … we have a couple more days in this system, checking out the other planets and investigating the asteroid belts and then it’s on to the next one.  Our asari scientist is here somewhere, folks.  Let’s go find her before Saren does.”

 


	7. Chapter 7

It was rare that Jane couldn’t find when she needed to.  There were very few places aboard ship that he enjoyed spending time.  Of those few, engineering was always Jane’s first stop because she knew how John and Adams liked to spend time discussing the new IES stealth drive.  And her husband teased _HER_ about being the tech head.  However, when she arrived, she found that wasn’t there.  Adams and Tali both were on duty, but when questioned, both reported that they had not seen the other N7 for at least the past few hours.

That led Jane to her second choice: the Crew Deck.  John might not be a biotic, but his caloric intake rivaled biotics everywhere.  When they’d been kids, Jane had heard his mom curse it at meal times as ‘hollow leg syndrome’ which had confused Jane at first, but Hannah Shepard had cleared it up by assuring her, “It just means he never stops eating and doesn’t gain an ounce.”  It was also something he had never outgrown.  Jane’s current inspection of the mess, though, proved to be a fruitless endeavor.  Like in engineering, he was not there.

Sighing, Jane paused to reconsider her remaining options.  John hated being ‘boxed up’ - his words, not hers - and so she figured he wouldn’t be sitting around in their cabin.  Besides, he usually told her when he was going off duty in the off chance they would actually be able to spend some time alone together.  Rare as it was, even now aboard the _Normandy_ , they had managed a few nights alone, at least for a few hours.  But she had not received any message, so she felt pretty safe in assuming he was not there.

So, where then?

Jane avoided the medical bay for now - not only was she unaware of any particular need for John to be there at the moment, but she had no desire to face off with the doctor prematurely.  Her sling had come off during the time spent surveying the planets in the Athens System, and ever since Jane had been focused on a series of rehabilitative exercises she’d learned from the last time she’d dislocated the shoulder.  She was determined to be ready to go once they located which planet Dr. T’Soni’s dig site was on which, given that they’d just entered the Knossos system, the last one they had to explore in the Artemis Tau cluster, should be any time.

The only places left, then, were above deck.  Heading up through the CIC, Jane opted to start at the front and work her way back.  There was a chance he could be in the conference room, she supposed, but she knew it to be more likely she would find him up front chatting with Joker rather than sitting alone.  After all, as he was so fond of pointing out, _she_ was the one who liked to hide out in the dark.  Alone.   _He_ was the ‘people person.’

Her search was not to be completed without interruption, however.

“Commander?”

Jane slowed as she passed Pressly, turning to meet him.  “Yes?”

“I think we’ve got something.”

Stepping over beside him, she eyed the results of the latest scan that the navigator was pulling up for her.   _Therum_.  Rich, industrial, claimed by Systems Alliance.  Many prothean ruins scattered all over the planet though many had been looted by mining companies over the years.  Therum was also a volcanic world; pools of lava that would have to be maneuvered around.  

Jane frowned, her eyes drifting back upwards.  If Therum was claimed by the Alliance, why hadn’t Anderson or Udina directed them to it specifically?  Sighing, she nodded at Pressly.  It wouldn’t be the first time that Alliance Intel had dropped the ball.

“Commander?”

Jane lifted a hand to her comm link.  “Go ahead, Joker.”

“I think we might have something,” the pilot informed her.  “Scans of Therum are showing -”

“I’m with Pressly right now,” she replied.  “I see it.”

“Uh, I’m pretty sure you don’t see _this_ , Commander.  You might want to come up front.  Front row seats and all.”

Jane’s brow lifted in question towards Pressly, but the navigator simply shrugged.  “On my way.”

The distance between the CIC and the bridge took less than a minute, and Jane found the answer to her earlier question waiting for her when she arrived.  Off to the left, John was seated at one of the stations, several holographic interfaces up and waiting for her.  “There you are,” she murmured as she came to a halt behind him.  Then, “So, what do you have for me, Joker?”

The pilot glanced over at her, a smirk tilting his lips.  “Geth.”

John’s arm moved, pointing to a more detailed surface map he’d brought up to his right.  Jane glanced over to follow.  “Here, here and here,” he told her, his fingers tracing a path that matched a raised area above the lava pits below.  “Also, we’ve seen several signs of geth dropships flying in and out over here.”  The last _HERE_ was an industrial outpost of some sort, according to the label attached to it.  

“Joker?  Is the IES activated?” Jane asked.

“Yes, ma’am.  We should be good for a while yet, too.”

Jane’s gaze hadn’t left the map, and while the pilot was reassuring her that no one could see them while the stealth system was engaged, she’d spotted something.  “What’s that?” she asked, her finger rising to point at an area another click or two beyond where John had indicated.  

“Old mine entrance,” he told her.  “Been abandoned for a while now from what I’ve been able to determine.”

“An old mine, hmm?”  Jane scanned the map again before she straightened and backed up a step.  “How deep are the mines?”

John shrugged as he turned to face her.  “Probably typical, I’d imagine,” he replied.  

Their eyes met.  “Deep enough to reach prothean ruins below?”

John chuckled and nodded.  “Deep enough for that, I expect.”

“Activity’s picking up, Commanders,” Joker broke in.  “Looks like another dropship heading in along that same path.  Activity has officially reached the ‘off the damned charts’ level, I’d say.”

Jane smiled at her husband.  “Time to saddle up.”

He smiled back.  “No arguments from me.  Meet you down in the shuttle bay.”

  


~ 0 ~

  


From the instant that it had become clear they had found the most likely planet where Dr. T’Soni was located, Jane had been expecting a confrontation.  She was not disappointed.  The doors to the lift down to the shuttle bay were just beginning to close with the nimble doctor jumped aboard.  

“Commander.”

“Doctor.”

“I believe in your haste that you have forgotten procedure.”

Jane gave the doctor a steady look.  “No, doctor, I have not.”

Chakwas was nonplussed.  “Then you had no intention of joining the others on this mission?  Good.  I was beginning to think -”

In a quick move, one that was likely too quick given how recently she had sustained the injury, Jane made a move with her left hand and set a biotic barrier around herself.  She figured it would go over better than putting the doctor into a stasis bubble to prove her point.  “Does that satisfy you, doctor?”  

The doctor, lips pursed tightly together, shook her head as she raised her omni-tool.  “Not in the least.”

The moment the doors opened, Jane stepped out and turned towards her locker to don her armor and collect the rest of her gear.  She didn’t care what Chakwas’ final decision would be - she was _going_ on this mission.  She was a Spectre, dammit, and her presence would be _required_.  At least, that would be her argument should the need arise.  The others were present and in various stages of readiness.  Jane also noted with a wry grin that they were doing their best to _not_ pay attention to what was going on between the Commander and the doctor.  

Though she moved slower than usual and with considerably more care, Jane was able to get into her armor without assistance from any of the others.  After that, it was simply a matter of holstering her weapons.  Which provided yet another point in case: despite her protests to the doctor, even Jane knew better than to expect to be able to use her left arm during the mission to come for anything other than occasional biotic moves, and for this reason she only grabbed her pistol.  

“Commander!”

Jane came to a halt three steps towards the Mako before she turned back to face the doctor.  She longed to fold her arms across her chest, to give added emphasis to the fact that she was indeed well enough for the mission, but she knew she would not be able to hide the level of pain that would accompany such a move.  Eye twitches and winces would certainly not go over well.  “Yes, doctor?”

The bay became silent - the only sounds coming from the thrumming of the ship’s engine, the soft rumbles of the ventilation system and the breather mask that Tali always wore.  All the while, the two women held the others attention.  

Surprisingly to Jane, it was the doctor who gave in first  but not without a heavy sigh.  “Be careful down there, Shepard,” she said.  “I will not treat you a second time for the same injury.”

From one moment to the next, Jane’s level of irritation sank to non-existent levels.  Lips tilting with a smirk, she quipped, “I will make sure any injuries are new, doctor.  No worries on that account,” then turned and hurried across to climb into the vehicle, ignoring the over exaggerated sigh of exasperation emitted by the doctor as she turned to leave.  

Once in her seat, Jane turned to face the others.  They had a full crew this time, and it was a bit crowded as they settled into the vehicle.  “Everyone ready?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Alenko answered for all of them from his position beside her and next to the navigation systems.  Jane’s brow lifted at this, especially considering that her husband was with the group, but Alenko simply gave the other Commander a quick look then offered the Spectre a smirk.  

“You called shotgun, didn’t you?”

Alenko’s smile was very subtle, but Jane noticed it.  “Something like that,” he agreed.

Biting back a grin, Jane called back, “Buckle up, everyone.  This is likely to be a bumpy ride.”

  


~ 0 ~

  


“Bumpy ride, she says,” Williams muttered a short while later.  “Who knew she meant literally?”

Seated behind the Chief, John felt safe in chuckling.  Jane was too busy keeping her eyes on the path before them to worry about his reaction to such comments.  Or so he hoped.  “Would you rather I drive?” he countered.

“Hell no, Skipper!”  Had she not been so distracted by the confrontation between Dr. Chakwas and the Spectre, John suspected that Williams would have beat Alenko to calling shotgun.  Ah well, live and learn.  

Biting back a grin now, John adopted a more serious reaction, though, he asked, “Do I detect a high level of sarcasm in your tone there, soldier?”

He quickly realized that Williams was onto him; the broad smirk she gave him told him that.  “Nope.  Just a high level of self-preservation.  Sir.”

“Quite the comedy routine you have going back there,” Jane’s voice called out a moment later.

“Could’ve been you,” John reminded her.  

Jane’s snort of amusement was more than enough of a response for him.  

Sure, the journey from the drop zone was proving to be a bit … well, uneven was a good word, right?  They’d had several encounters with the geth so far, and from what he recalled of the map he and Jane had looked at earlier, they were almost to the mine shaft.  

“Are we there yet?” Tali asked, her voice beginning to take on the edge of a passenger thoroughly miserable with the current conditions.  John wasn’t certain if it was due to the bumpy nature of the drive or the excessive heat seeping up into the Mako, but either way, he couldn’t blame the young quarian.  

“Almost,” Alenko called back.  “Just over the next rise.”

“Wrex, keep an eye out for more of those -” Jane called out as the Mako crested the top of the hill, only to come under fire from yet another couple of geth.

The vibration of both the Mako’s cannon and Wrex’s laughter alerted everyone else that the krogan was well aware of their current situation.  With a final lurch of the Mako as Jane moved forward, the last of the synthetics went down with a resounding crunch.

Or maybe that was just John’s memory filling in the sound for him.  Whatever the case, his hand came to rest on the back of Williams’ seat as he leaned forward.  From his position in the back, he could not see through the virtual windows.  “How far?”

“Just up ahead,” Jane called back.

“Good.  Anything in between us and the mine?”

“Not that I can see -”

“Wait.”  Garrus’ voice had an urgency to it.  “Do you hear that?”

Alenko leaned forward in his seat, head canting to the side as he searched the sky.  “There,” he replied, pointing.  “Geth dropship incoming.”

Jane pulled the Mako to a rolling stop close to the entrance of the mine but not quite close enough.  “Wrex …?”

The vehicle shook as the cannon released a shot.  Between rumbling laughs, the krogan bellowed out challenges as well.  John noticed that despite the tenseness of the situation, there were some partial smiles among the rest of the group at this.  Unexpected reassurance, perhaps.  Of course, even he was finding the krogan battlemaster’s arrogance - or maybe it was eternal optimism? - in the heat of battle to be somewhat comforting.  Just so long as the krogan remained on _their_ side of things.

The Mako rocked again as it was hit by the incoming pulse attack and both Jane and Alenko moved quickly to assess the damage.  “Shields down twenty percent,” Alenko murmured in an eerily calm tone.

“Wrex?” Jane called out, making a few adjustments on her interface and steering the Mako off to their left to find some sort of momentary protection behind some shipping crates.

“You’re blocking my line of sight, Shepard!” the krogan bellowed.

The muted thud of something hitting the roof of the Mako had John looking over at Williams.  “What was that?”

“Some sort of … hopping … thing,” Alenko called back.  “It’s too fast - I can’t even begin to describe it.”

Williams began reaching for her harness.  “Let us out there, dammit!” she hissed.  “We can’t kill them if we’re -”

The vehicle shook again as Wrex released another cannon burst.  Seconds after that, the Mako took another direct hit and Jane was maneuvering it yet again behind the crates.

“Shields down forty percent,” Alenko announced.

“Garrus,” John asked, “how fast can you get up atop that catwalk out there?”

The turian shook his head.  “Not fast enough,” he replied.  

The Mako shook again, and this time Wrex released a victory bellow along with the shot.  Moments later, the burst of machine gun fire could be heard accompanying his continued laughter.  

“Out,” Jane ordered as she turned.  “He’s taken down the armature and some of the others, but there’s still those hopping things.  Be ready.”

One by one, they began falling out.  John chose to lead the way, eyes scanning the area before he’d even set his foot on the ground.  A blur of movement to his left had him spinning  and doing nearly a 180 degree spin.  He saw Williams exiting behind him and called out, “Behind you!” just as he lifted his omni-tool and managed to shoot off an overload charge.

Tali, having followed right behind Williams, saw this move and prepared her own such attack on the second hopping geth that suddenly appeared to their right atop the shipping crate.  While it only immobilized the creature for a moment, a shot from right behind her rang out as Garrus took aim from the top of the doorway.  

“That’s it,” Williams called out, walking around to the other side of the Mako.  

John followed her, eyes still scanning the area.  “Clear,” he called out.  When he and Williams both rejoined the others, Wrex, Alenko and Jane had exited.  Jane was looking over at him as he rounded the back end.  “What?”

“That was a bit too easy, don’t you think?” she asked while rolling her left shoulder.  

“That was easy?” Garrus asked, glancing around at the others.  Tali shrugged, Wrex chuckled, but the humans were all looking at one another.

Jane’s words almost caught John off guard.  Almost.  But as he thought about it for a moment, he began nodding, soon followed by Alenko and Williams with their agreement.  “Yeah … I mean, after what we faced on Eden Prime and such, added to the fact that Saren knows we’re coming here … yeah.  Not exactly the welcoming committee I was expecting.”

Reaching for her weapon, Williams flashed a quick but determined grin at John.  “Well then.  Let’s get this party started, shall we?”

The rest of the group began reaching for weapons as Jane nodded towards the mine shaft.  “Might as well.  We’ll have to face the music sometime,” she offered.  

“Party?  Music?” Tali queried.  She turned towards Garrus, but he looked just as bewildered as she sounded.

Alenko and Williams shared a look while chuckling.  “Old Earth expressions,” Williams told her.

Alenko nodded, taking over.  “Basically what it means is we know there are more geth waiting for us and we might as well face them now instead of waiting for them to launch an attack.”

John glanced over to see Jane rolling her eyes and bit back a smirk.  “Literary analysis of your commands now?” he mused softly so only she could hear.  “Interesting.”

She shot him a dark look before opening the door to the mine.  It was more than enough for him to know that she would likely make him pay for it later.

  


~ 0 ~

  


Fighting their way through to find the archaeologist did not disappoint.  Almost from the moment they entered the mine shaft they encountered resistance.  By the time they reached the lower level where the doctor was located and found her protected by some sort of energy field, they felt they were prepared for just about anything.  Which was good, because they discovered that Saren’s lackeys still had some surprises left for them, including plenty more geth and a krogan battlemaster of his own.

The battle that ensued would have been chaotic even without the ruins beginning to fall apart around them.  Jane, John, Alenko, Tali and  Garrus focused their attacks upon the geth while Wrex and Williams aimed for the opposing krogan.  Dr. T’Soni herself offered assistance by way of a stasis field when, unbeknownst to Jane, the krogan nearly caught the Spectre from behind, but the asari’s move gave Wrex time to take him out completely with a well aimed head shot.

However, there was no time for celebrating or rejoicing as the ruins continued to crumble around them.  “Move it!” Jane shouted, gesturing everyone towards the exit.  One after another, they began the mad scramble up the stairs and through the entrance to the mine, finally breaking free just moments before the ground gave way beneath them.  Jane made it three steps outside of the door before a loud booming noise followed by a large plume of air and debris followed, engulfing her for a moment and causing her to break into a violent fit of coughing.  As Joker maneuvered the _Normandy_ in to retrieve them and the Mako, Alenko moved to her side, pulling out his omni-tool and starting some scans.  

Jane gave him a hard glare.  “Chakwas’ doing?” she rasped.

Alenko chuckled and shook his head.  “Field medic training, remember?” he offered by way of explanation.

“I’m … fine,” she insisted, shaking off his attentions and straightening.  Taking a deep breath once they were in the shuttle bay, she released it in a slow, controlled manner to prove to him that she was indeed doing better.  Only the smallest cough caught her at the end.  

“You should still have the doctor run some more tests,” Alenko told her as he walked over to the lockers and began removing arms and armor with the others.  

Jane followed suit.  “Later,” she replied.  

The comms crackled to life then, and Joker’s voice broke free, echoing throughout the shuttle bay.  “Too close, Commander.  Ten more seconds and we would have been swimming in molten sulfur. The _Normandy_ isn’t equipped to land in exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference.”

Jane’s eyes drifted over to John’s, brow lifting.  John chuckled.  “I’ll take that under advisement, Joker,” she promised.  “For now, though, why don’t you just get us out of here?”

“Already done, Commander.  Where do you want to go?”

Eyes still on her husband’s, Jane’s lips pulled into a grin, a twinkle sparkling amongst the green.  “Second star on the right and straight on ‘til morning,” she replied.

John chuckled.  “Man, how long has it been since then?” he asked her.  While Jane shrugged, he called out to Joker for clarification, “The Citadel, Joker.”

“Roger that.”

“We all nearly died, and you laugh about it as if it were nothing?”

Setting her weapon aside for Williams to take care of later, Jane turned to face the asari archaeologist.  “It’s a coping mechanism,” she explained.  “Helps deal with the stress and strain.”

Williams snorted loudly.  “That’s one way to put it,” she muttered.

Jane bit back a laugh.  “Some better than others, apparently,” she added with a glance over at the Chief whose only response was to roll her eyes and head over to the elevators with the others who were heading to the upper decks.  

“I … I see.”  

Jane eyed the asari closely.  Her hands twisted around each other in a nervous gesture, and Jane reached out to touch her arm.  She was not surprised when Dr. T’Soni jumped in reaction.  “Sorry.  Most of us are soldiers.  We’ve been through a lot and humor, as dry and dark as it can be at times, is a way of dealing with the otherwise harsh realities of life, I guess.”

The archaeologist managed a half hearted smile, but she nodded which Jane took as a good sign.  “I will admit, I don’t have much experience with your species, Commander.  I’m not used to many of your cultural ways.”

Jane’s smile softened as she shook out her hair and placed the last of her armor in her locker.  “That’s alright.  By the time we reach the Citadel, I’m sure you’ll have figured out plenty.”  Moving down the line of lockers, Jane found an empty one and opened it.  “I know you don’t have much at the moment, but this one will be yours, for future reference.  Assuming, that is, you are willing to work with us?”

There was a moment’s hesitation, but the asari soon nodded.  “I don’t know what Benezia is up to, Commander.  I haven’t spoken to her in over fifty years.  However, if what you’ve told me so far is accurate, then I don’t see what else I can do.”

Sighing, Jane took a seat on a nearby crate, gesturing for the asari to join her.  Taking several minutes, she outlined everything they knew about Saren, the geth, and the information they had on Matriarch Benezia’s association with him, beginning with the events on Eden Prime and ending up at the current moment.  

“A prothean beacon?” she whispered, awestruck.

Jane nodded.  Habit had her lifting a hand to her temple and rubbing there.  It wasn’t a constant ache anymore, but there were times when the jumble of memories from the beacon still intruded into her thoughts.  Most of the time it happened while she was sleeping.  

“And have you made any sense of what you saw?”

Jane shook her head.  “Not much, I’m afraid.  I know it was a warning of some kind.  Some sort of giant, synthetic race.  But that’s about it.”  She offered a quick smile.  “We’ll figure it out, I have no doubt about that.”

The archaeologist’s eyes were wide, almost like a small child enraptured by a story being told.  “I … I hope I can help with that.”

Jane’s lips tilted up.  Rising, she gestured towards the lift.  “I’ve no doubt you will,” she assured her.  “In the meantime, we have come across some other prothean information in our travels.  I’m hoping you might be able to assist with that as well?”

“Of course.”  

When the lift slowed to a halt, opening its doors for them, Jane noticed the asari wobble just a bit.  “Whoa there!  Are you alright?  Maybe you should have Dr. Chakwas check you out … then get something to eat or rest.”  Jane moved to her side and remained close should she feel faint.

The asari nodded.  “I … perhaps you are right,” she replied, allowing Jane to lead her into the med bay.  

“I’ll leave you here with Dr. Chakwas.  She’s one of the best, and I’ve no doubt she’ll be having you feeling better soon.”

“Why, thank you for that vote of confidence, Commander,” Chakwas replied.  “And do not think I won’t be tracking you down later to check up on that shoulder of yours.”

Jane took that as her cue to leave.  “I’m fine, doctor.  Just a little stiffness.  Nothing a hot shower won’t cure.”  Waving at them both, she ducked back out the doors before she could be called back and then scurried over to the entrance to her cabin.

Once inside, she closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, sighing heavily.  “Oi!”

A deep rumbling chuckle from across the room caused her to jump.  “Should I presume you ran into the doctor?” John asked.

Jane turned towards him, crossing until she was standing right in front of him.  “Something like that,” she replied before leaning up to kiss him.  “She wants to check up on my shoulder.”

“No kidding?” he teased.  “I wonder why she would want to do that?”

Jane retaliated by placing her hands on his chest and pushing him down onto the bed.  “Wouldn’t be because you reminded her, would it?”

“Who, me?”  He reached up to grasp her hand and tugged until she fell on top of his chest.  “I hardly need to remind her at this point, don’t you think?”

Relaxing against him for a moment, Jane rested her head against his shoulder.  “Hmm.  Where you’re involved, I never know for sure.”

“Besmirching my character again, I see.”  He lifted a hand to run through her hair, still slightly damp after their adventures on the volcanic planet.  “Well, I’ll just have to figure out some way to change your mind then.”

Lifting herself to rest against her forearm placed across his chest, she lifted a brow in question.  “That might take some doing,” she mused lightly.  “What did you have in mind?”

She watched his blue eyes narrow in and focus on hers, his head tilting to the side as he considered.  “Dinner on the Citadel?” he offered.  “Some place quiet.  Just us.”

Jane grinned.  “Our anniversary is months away,” she teased.  

“But it’s been years since we’ve been assigned the same duty station,” he reminded her.  “I intend to take full advantage of it!”

Leaning over, she placed a light kiss on his lips.  “Alright, I can get behind that.  Dinner.  Just us.  No one else.  And _NO_ interruptions.”

In the next moment, Jane heard herself yelping as he rolled them over until he had her pinned on the bed beneath him.  This time when they kissed, there was a bit more heat behind it.  “No interruptions,” he agreed before dimming the lights, “I promise.”

  
  



	8. Chapter 8

The arrival of the _Normandy_ at the Citadel docking bays went relatively unnoticed save for the few Alliance maintenance personnel scheduled to assist with its care during the ship’s stay.  Jane’s decision to give the crew a forty-eight hour window for shore leave seemed more than appropriate after the success of their first major mission, and it did not take long before they began to take advantage of it on individual or group basis.  Most had filtered their way off the ship for the sights and sounds of the Citadel, save for those who had duty watch, by the time Jane was preparing to disembark.  For her, though, pleasure would have to be interspersed with work.

John found her in their cabin shortly after they’d docked.  He’d been prepared to suggest they head off for that meal together first thing (knowing how quickly things could and usually did change once word of her being on the Citadel began to circulate, of course), only to find his wife standing in front of the mirror, smoothing down her dress uniform.   _Most decidedly, not good_ , he thought.  “I take it you already have plans?” he asked casually.

He saw her shoulders rise and fall with a sigh before turning to face him … but that didn’t change the fact that she looked stunning.  Somehow, she always managed to look every bit a proper soldier, even in her dress blues, whereas he always looked gangly and awkward.  “Admiral Kahoku,” she told him and he saw the sadness building behind green eyes.  “He had some time, so I thought I’d go and let him know ….”

Crossing the room, John reached for one of her hands, pulling her close when she took it, hugging her tight.  He knew she was hurting.  No officer liked to lose men under their command … or the idea of reporting to others that their men had been lost. “Do you want me to go with you?” he asked.  “I can be ready in ten, spitshine and all.”

Her smile was sad as she leaned up and kissed his cheek, but it was visible even though she shook her head while dropping back to her feet.  “I’ll take care of it,” she replied.  “We can meet up after, maybe?”

John nodded immediately.  Distraction would be needed right about then, he suspected.  “Sounds good.  Figured I’d head over to the markets anyway.  See if I can’t track down some of those things on Pressly’s wish list.”

Jane did chuckle softly at that.  “Procurement?  Really?” she asked.  “I sure hope your bargaining skills have improved since Elysium.”

Then again, maybe distraction would be better served right then.  “I will have you know -” he began.

But Jane was quick to cut him off.  “- that it was your attempt at ‘negotiations’ that ended up with me having to make that ‘suicide run.’”

John did his best to look hurt and offended, though they both knew it was far from the truth.  “I was hardly responsible for your - what was it Anderson called it?  An ‘insane desire to exhibit your hero complex mentality’?”

Jane rolled her eyes as she led the way out of the cabin and up the stairs to the CIC.  “‘Hero complex mentality,’ my ass,” she informed him.  

“Hey, I offered to be the one to go.  And seeing as I was N5 at the time, I outranked you and it was my call,” he protested.  He remembered that incident all too well and occasionally still suffered nightmares from it at the thought of what Jane had done on her own.  Oh, he hadn’t known the details until well after the events (right in the middle of the ceremony presenting them both with the Star of Terra for their actions that day, as a matter of fact, when his eyes and everyone else’s had gone wide as the details were revealed), but the thought of sending her into a situation like that had been nerve wracking even without that knowledge.  

“You’d already been injured,” she reminded him.

“I was fine.  It was only a scratch ….”

Jane chuckled softly.  “Only you would call a that ‘a scratch,’ Hopalong.”

John winced.  He’d managed to forget that nickname over time.  Clearly, she hadn’t.  “So I wasn’t at a hundred percent.  I still could have managed -”

Jane stopped walking abruptly in the middle of the CIC, spinning on her heel to face him.  “Trust me,” she told him quietly, intense green eyes finding blue, “you couldn’t have.”  She sighed and he noticed the set of her shoulders relax just a bit more.  “And I’ll admit I’m glad I didn’t have to worry about that.”

John lifted a hand to tilt her chin upwards just a fraction.  “You might not have had to worry,” he told her before tapping the tip of her nose with his finger, “but I did.  I swear, one of these days, you and your actions will be the death of me.”

The smile that curved at her lips was contrite, he noticed.  That was enough for now.  She was strong and proud and a damned good spec ops operative.  Hell, they both were.  “Come on,” he murmured, sliding his arm down to rest at her waist and pull her beside him.  “I’ll walk you over to the embassies.”

 

~ 0 ~

 

“Admiral, thank you for taking the time to meet with me.”

The Presidium was busy as always, but Jane arranged the meeting with Admiral Ryan Kahoku in one of the public gardens located near the embassies.  It was public, but not often occupied Jane had been informed.  It was perfect for their needs.

“Should I presume that this has something to do with the fate of my men, Commander?” the Admiral asked.

After submitting her reports to both Hackett and Anderson regarding events on Edolus, Anderson warned her that Kahoku had a reputation for being a down to Earth, by the book sort of officer.  She expected that he would get down to business quickly, just maybe not quite this fast.  “Yes, sir.”  

Taking a deep breath, she paused for a long moment before continuing.  “I’m not quite sure how to tell you this, Admiral, but your men were killed by a thresher maw.”

“A thresher maw?” he stammered, clearly shocked by her announcement.  “My … my men wouldn’t just stumble into a nest!”

Jane nodded.  “Yes, sir.  And they didn’t.  Your men were lured there by an Alliance beacon, strategically placed,” she explained.  “It was the same beacon that drew me and my team to the location.”

Silence lingered between them for a few minutes as the man standing before her clearly struggled to accept the news.  “Thank you, Commander,” he finally told her, sighing in resignation, his shoulders slumping slightly in defeat.  “I … I need to do something.  Their families need to know why they died.”

Jane bit her lip, instinct causing the hair at the back of her neck to rise.  There was something about the way he spoke that was triggering alarms inside her head.  “Sir … is there some way I might help?  Anything you need from me or my crew?”

That seemed to cause him to pause.  He turned and met her gaze, staring at her for a long moment.  “Not right now, Shepard,” he finally replied, “but I’ll let you know once I find something out.  Now, if you will excuse me ….”

Jane opened her mouth to respond, but the Admiral was already walking away.  Swallowing back the words, she instead turned towards the embassies and went to seek out Captain Anderson.  

“Ah, Commander,” her mentor greeted her warmly, “come on in.”

Jane darted a quick glance around and was not surprised when Anderson’s deep rumbling chuckle filled the room.  “Don’t worry,” he assured her.  “Udina’s off at some meetings.”

Jane flashed him a quick grin.  “Am I that transparent?”

Anderson grinned at her as they both walked over to the railing and looked out over the Presidium.  “Not at all,” he told her.  “So, what can I do for you?”

Jane leaned her forearms against the railing and stared down at her hands for a long moment.  “Sir … I’m worried about Rear Admiral Kahoku.”  She took a few minutes to explain about her conversation with the man, to fill Anderson in on how the mission had gone first-hand.  

Anderson’s reply began with an acknowledging rumble in his throat.  “The Admiral is a good man,” he agreed after a moment.  “He cares about his men.  I suspected he would take this pretty hard.”

Jane glanced over at her superior.  “Sir?  This was more than just taking things ‘pretty hard,’ I think,” she pointed out.  “He wasn’t talking about going to write letters of condolence or anything like that, he said he ‘needed to do something’ and that he needed to ‘find out what happened’ to his men.  That suggests he plans to investigate.”

Anderson’s gaze met hers.  “Is that a bad thing?” he challenged.

“Not at all.  But the way he said it ....”  Jane bit her lip and then shook her head.  “I can’t put it into words, Captain, but it sounds more like he’s planning to _do_ something about what happened.”  She hesitated to suggest that the Admiral might, well for lack of a better term, ‘go rogue’ and go off hunting after whoever was behind the set up, but her gut was screaming that the man had deeper intentions than just notifying next of kin.

“Let it be for now, Commander,” Anderson advised.  “I’ll make a point of it to check in with him after a while.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now then, is there anything else I can do for you?” he asked, turning to face her.  “As I understood things, you and your crew were on leave and -”

The sound of the door to the office sliding open pulled both their attentions around.  “Anderson, there you are.  I need to discuss ….  Shepard.  What are you doing here?”

Jane bit back a quick retort, nodding over at Anderson as she began to depart.  “I was just leaving, Ambassador.  Excuse me.”  She heard the quiet discussion between Anderson and Udina behind her, but as the Captain did not call her back, Jane decided that she was quite safe in exiting the embassies just as quickly as her legs would carry her.  She had enough to worry about - she didn’t need Udina haranguing her about the status of their mission or anything.

 

~ 0 ~

 

“Well,” John murmured to his companions as they stepped back out into the open space of the Presidium, “that was … different.”

The turian beside him chuckled.  “I suppose the Consort is an acquired taste,” he agreed.

Williams snickered.  “Somehow, I doubt the Commander would appreciate the Skipper making such an ‘acquisition.’”

John tossed a tolerant glare over at the Chief before glancing at Garrus.  “Have you had the opportunity to visit her before?”

Garrus looked stunned at the thought.  “Ahhh … no,” he admitted, ignoring the chuckles of both Shepard and Williams.  “Not on a … well, personal level anyway.  Weren’t you paying attention when we first arrived?  The wait list for seeing her is months long.”

“Uh huh,” Williams chuckled.  Nudging Garrus with her elbow, she added, “Just admit it, Vakarian.  Her services are just a tiny bit out of the price range of a lowly C-Sec investigator.”

“Well, there is truth in that, too, I suppose.”

John shook his head and began leading them across the Presidium.  As they moved, he lifted his omni-tool and shot off a quick message to Jane.  Behind him, Williams and Garrus continued their conversation.  “So … if you weren’t visiting for personal reasons,” Williams asked, “do I even want to know why you were there?”

“It was a couple of years back,” the turian explained.  “One of her clients was the victim in a case.  Standard procedure had us investigating every lead.  You know …. questioning everyone who had seen them last, that sort of thing.”

Williams whistled through her teeth.  “Wow.  I take it she wasn’t involved?” she asked, her head nodding back in the direction of the Consort’s chambers.  “Since she still seems to be in, erm, business.”

Garrus chuckled.  “No, she wasn’t.  Ended up being an asari dancer out of _Chora’s Den_.  An undercover merc.  Apparently, her coloring was quite similar to the Consort and outside of her job at the _Den_ , she chose to dress similarly in order to use the confusion to her advantage.”

“Wow,” Williams murmured.  “Guess humans aren’t the only ones who act so … human at times, huh?”

John chuckled as he sent another message.  “There’s only so much room for original ideas out there, Chief, before certain trends and behaviors begin repeating.  Even in a galaxy as big as ours,” he reminded her.

They came to a halt near the elevators leading to the Wards.  “Alright,” John announced, “this is where I remind you both that you’re on shore leave, so go have some fun.  Right?”

Williams grinned.  “Translation: Skipper’s got a hot date with Spectre Shepard.  C’mon, Garrus.  Let’s you and me go find trouble somewhere else.”

“Umm ….”

John shook his head at Williams.  “Be nice, Chief,” he warned, though there was no heat behind his words.

“Hey, I saw some mods down in the market,” she declared.  “That’s trouble … sort of ….”

“Mods, you say?”

John bit back a grin.  “I’ll see you two later.”

But before the elevator doors could close, Williams stuck her hand out to hold it open.  “Just a minute, Skipper.  Where are you meeting her?”

Blinking, John glanced down at his omni-tool.  “Some place on the Presidium,” he replied.

He saw Williams exchange a quick, amused look with Garrus before she reached out, took John by his shoulders and spun him around leaving him with his back towards them.  “Uh, Skipper?  You wanna go back _that_ way.”  

As she released him and stepped backwards, he could hear both of them laughing and he managed to throw an evil look in their direction which only seemed to set Williams off laughing harder.  Grumbling to himself, John headed back up to the Presidium.  What Williams _didn’t_ know was that Jane had given him specific directions to their meeting place.  The chances of him getting lost were minimal.  Hopefully.

 

~ 0 ~

 

Jane paced around the area just outside of the restaurant for a few minutes before stopping.  She glanced at her omni-tool but found it silent.  No messages.  No alerts.  No … nothing.  Frowning, she lifted her other hand, half-prepared to send John a short note just to find out what was taking him so long, but she dropped both hands before she could.  It wasn’t like this wasn’t usual practice, after all.  Williams hadn’t been far off the mark with her teasing comments about John getting them lost that first visit.  Which was why Jane had asked his current location at the time of his message and given him explicit directions to get from there to here ….

“Hey, beautiful.”

The low murmur near her ear had Jane gasping and jumping just a bit in surprise as she turned.  “ _There_ you are,” she laughed.  “I was about to call C-Sec to initiate an investigation into your disappearance!”

“Har har har,” John returned dryly.  Glancing at the entrance to the restaurant, he eyed the place carefully.  “So … this is where you want to go?”

Jane shrugged.  “It’s as good as any, right?” she asked in return.  “I’ve heard it’s got great food. Nice atmosphere ….”

“Looks pretty good from the outside.”  John peeked inside and glanced around the area.  “Plenty of politicians,” he murmured.  Grimacing suddenly, he ducked back out rather quickly.  Jane’s brow lifted at that.  “Uh … on the other hand, you might want to rethink your decision,” he suggested.

Frowning, she demanded, “Why?  You said I got to choose where we ate this time.”

“No, no,” he lifted his hands in an attempt to ward off her anger, “you’re right.  I did say that and I mean it.  It’s just … well ….”  He gestured for her to look where he had.  “See for yourself.”

Sighing, Jane stepped over and took a peek around the corner … and winced.  “Shit!” she hissed softly, pulling back quickly.  Grabbing his hand, she began walking away from the place.  “Dammit, why’d he have to be here?”

John couldn’t resist a chuckle.  “You’re whining, you know that, right?”

Jane turned sharply, tugging hard on his hand to keep him up with her pace.  “You had to point him out, didn’t you?”

“And if he’d seen you while we were in there?” John countered.  “As I recall, you declared this a ‘no interruptions’ dinner.”

Jane sighed wearily, but otherwise said nothing in reply.

“So.  Where to then?”

Jane slowed her pace, coming to a halt a short distance from the hall leading to the elevators that would take them to the Wards.  There was also a skycab station nearby.  Two, actually, within easy walking distance.  The only question remaining was where to go to eat now.

“Assuming seeing the Ambassador there hasn’t completely turned your appetite,” John commented, “I have a suggestion.”

Jane glanced up at him.  “Oh, this ought to be good.”

“What?” he asked.  “The last time I chose, I thought I did particularly well.”

Jane snorted softly.  “The last time you chose, we were on Arcturus and our options were limited to the places we knew well enough,” she pointed out.  “Where’s the adventure in that?”

“Well, I thought the pizza was particularly good,” he insisted.  “Anyway, Anderson told me about a sushi place down in the Wards.  Says it’s pretty good, considering it’s on the Citadel and all ….”

Jane felt a smile pulling at her lips.  “Sushi you say?” she mused.

John nodded.  “I guess it’s pretty popular, too, but Anderson said we could drop his name.  Apparently, he’s been a frequent client of late.”

Jane tried to think back to the last time she’d had good sushi … and came up empty.  When John began chuckling, she glanced up and met his amused look as he took her arm this time and led her over to the skycab station.  “I figured as much,” he teased.

After entering the vehicle and John setting their destination, Jane leaned over and reached for his left arm.  “Hey, what are you doing?” he protested.

With a quick grin, she repeated the movements on her own arm.  “No interruptions, remember?” she countered.  After all, this was the first time they’d had time alone for a proper meal in many months.  She wasn’t about to take any chances.

 


	9. Chapter 9

Despite it being shore leave, there were the inevitable and requisite errands that needed completion before the _Normandy_ departed, and as many of these missions fell to those at the upper levels of command, John was not above fulfilling his own responsibilities.  On the second day of leave, enlisting the assistance of both Williams and Liara, John headed off to do just that.  

There were downsides to being married to the “Spectre Shepard,” however.  Especially when on official business for the _Normandy_ that he was certain left no doubt to the merchants with whom he was dealing that he was indeed serving on the same ship as the Spectre, but she was otherwise occupied and not available in person at that moment.  After their first encounter of this (the merchant never gave his name, but John figured there couldn’t be too many salarians in such positions selling arms and armor on the Citadel, right?) when the second and third times occurred, John could not fail to hear Williams’ snickering softly in response.  “Can it, Chief,” he muttered as they left the volus’ stall and headed towards another, this one run by a turian.

“Canning it, Skipper,” Williams replied, but there was more than just a hint of amusement still in her tone.  John spared Liara a quick glance, but the asari seemed more confused than anything.  He figured he would have to sit down and talk with her about Williams’ oddball sense of humor later.  

It was during this time, when John once again made a wrong turn that ended up with the three of them heading to the Presidium via the underground passages rather than back to the elevators in the Wards that would inevitably lead to the docks, that John found himself faced with an unusual situation.  As he led the other two down the hall, John spotted a bedraggled looking human off to the side of the pathway.  From afar, the man looked familiar, but John couldn’t decide why.  That in itself was particularly odd for him since John had a good eye and memory for faces.  A quick and questioning look over at Williams followed immediately by her shrugged response and shake of the head indicated it was not someone they had come upon since she had joined the _Normandy_ team after Eden Prime, which had John considering further.  It was only after he acknowledged the stranger with a nod of greeting and took a few minutes to stop and speak with him that he began to realize why his memory had triggered.  A meeting which ended with the former marine suggesting that John speak with his mother, of all people.  

As they stepped away, John indicated that Williams should lead the way back to the docks.  The entire trip, he remained silent; thinking as memory after memory began to return.  The last time he’d seen Zabaleta had been … back when he was a teenager.  Jane had been around, too, if he remembered correctly.  That had been aboard the _Einstein_.  He had hazy recollections of seeing the man in passing aboard that ship as he and Jane had traveled to and from classes, the mess hall, and other areas of the ship open to two teenagers.

“Skipper, you okay?”

Williams’ voice brought him back to the present as John realized that decon procedures at the ship’s hatch had just completed.  Liara had left them already, and Williams stood just inside the door.  Blinking, John nodded.  “Yeah.”  He walked passed her, his mood still contemplative, and made straight for the comm room.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Williams starting to head below deck.  It took less than half a second for him to make a decision.  “Williams?”

She made a quick turn and approached at which point John nodded her into the comm room.  Once the door was secured behind them, she asked, “Did you need me for something?”

John nodded.  Walking down the ramp to the main portion of the room, he began to pace.  More bits and pieces were beginning to come back to him now, details and particular incidents … as well as a greater concern.  “I need a favor, Chief,” he told her after a moment.

“A big one or a little one?”

John quirked a brow in question.  “What?”

“A big one, you’ll owe me back,” Williams explained.  “And trust me, Skipper, I’m good at saving those up.  A small one, I’d do for almost anyone, no questions asked.   _Mi casa es su casa,_ as it were.”

John couldn’t hold back a chuckle.  “How about a personal favor?” he asked.  “I’ll owe you, but probably not as big as one of your ‘big’ favors.”

Williams considered this.  “Alright, let ‘er rip, but I’ll be the one to decide where it falls.”

“Deal.”  John began to pace again as he tried to find a starting point for what he was about to reveal.  “Here’s the thing …  That incident back there?  With Zabaleta?  If I’m remembering things right, that has to do with an incident that occurred when my parents and Jane’s mom served together aboard the _Einstein_.”  He stopped, turned and met her questioning gaze.  “An incident that was responsible for Jane’s mother’s death.”

Williams openly winced.  “Yikes.  Okay, so what do you want me to do?”

John took a deep breath.  “I’m supposed to be meeting up with Jane in an hour or so over on the Presidium.  I was wondering if you might be willing to go find her and keep her … distracted until I can finish up with this.  The last thing I want is for her to have to walk in on any of this unprepared.”  

Williams chewed on her lip for a moment.  “Do you intend to tell her?” she asked after a moment.  

John nodded.  “Yeah, but not until it’s done.  Mindoir’s a twitchy incident for her.  She lost her mom there when marines were sent in to help.”

“Yeah … No, I get that part,” Williams assured him.  “I just don’t want her to catch wind of this later and think I was somehow involved in a scheme or -”

John raised a hand to silence her.  “I promise, Chief, I will tell her.”

Another moment’s hesitation, but then Williams straightened and saluted.  “Done deal, sir,” she announced.  

John thought he detected a sparkle of mischief in her brown eyes.  Cocking his head to the side just a bit, he hedged, “And the cost?”

Williams smiled.  “Oh, nothing major,” she assured him.  “Just this pretty little mod I spied in the Wards earlier today while you were attempting to haggle with that salarian …”  Without waiting for his reply, she turned on her heel and left the room.

“You’re a damned space pirate, Williams!” he called after her, laughing  as she waved at him on the way out the door.

Turning around, John moved to place the call to his mother.  “Lowe?  I need you to put through a real-time connection to the dreadnought _Kilimanjaro_.  I’m wanting to speak with XO Hannah Shepard.”

“Yes, Commander.”  A moment later, she told him, “I’m only able to establish voice-to-voice communications, Commander.”

“That’ll be fine.  Thanks.”

As he waited for the connection to become established, John began drumming his fingers along the railing.  It had been a while since he last spoke with his mother.  Even longer since they’d seen each other in person.  Maybe once he and Jane were done chasing Saren across the galaxy, they could ….

“John, is that you?  I don’t have time for a personal call right now.  I’m on duty.”

John sighed at the familiar sound of her voice.  “I know what that’s like,” he told her.  “But this is business, don’t worry.  Do you remember a Lieutenant Zabaleta from our time aboard the _Einstein_?”

“Ernesto?”  John heard the surprise in her tone.  “Have you heard from him?”

“I ran into him on the Citadel just a little while ago,” John explained.

“He was one of the marines who guarded the CIC,” Hannah explained.  “We shared a watch together.  I lost track of him though, after … well, there was an incident ….”

“Mindoir?” John guessed.  

“Yes.”  John heard so much in that one word.  Regret.  Concern.  And above all else, the weight of memories.  “John - before I continue … Jane’s not there, is she?  I heard you were both serving together again, and -”

“No, Mom,” he replied.  “She’s not aboard ship at the moment.”

Hannah’s sigh of relief was audible.  “We were the only ship in the area that could respond to the mayday call out of Mindoir,” she continued after a moment.  “Ernesto was one of the first marines to hit the ground, along with Sarah and your father.  Between what they found down there and what happened to Sarah, I don’t think Ernesto ever was quite the same afterwards.”

John frowned and considered.  “What happened down there, exactly?”

“About every abomination that a sentient being can do to another,” Hannah ground out.  “To a slaver, a person is just another animal.  And humans aren’t particularly liked out here, remember.  We heard about corralling.  Culling.  They’d shoot those they couldn’t use.  Implant control devices in the skulls of those that they could.  Without anesthetic.”

John’s stomach churned at that thought.  A flurry of memories nearly overwhelmed him in that moment.  Memories of hearing the news that Sarah McIntyre had been killed and running to find Jane; of finding her alone and crying in her quarters; of wondering how the hell he could help her when he barely knew what had happened himself; of adults refusing to tell him or her anything more than that Sarah McIntyre had been killed in action.  Struggling to find direction, he managed, “Was that … was that when he left the service?”  

“He tried to keep working, but it …  Well, it became very clear that it was taking a toll on him.  He began showing up drunk on duty more and more.  We couldn’t always cover for him.  The Alliance finally discharged him.  Everyone knew he drank because of what he’d witnessed down there, of course.  Even if he never talked about it.   _Especially_ because he never talked about it.”  She hesitated a moment before adding, “John, tell him to go to the Veteran’s Affairs Office.  They can help him.”

“Will do, Mom,” he promised.  He’d already begun to suspect she would ask him to pass something like that along.

“I have to go,” Hannah told him.  “But do me a favor?  Take care of yourself.  Tell Jane to do the same.  You’re both making us so proud.   _Kilimanjaro_ out.”

As soon as the call was disconnected, John turned on his heel and exited the room.  As he passed through the CIC, he paused.  “Pressly, are Vakarian and Alenko still aboard?”

Pressly shook his head.  “Vakarian is, sir, but Alenko is assisting your wife at the moment as is Tali’zorah.  Dr. T’Soni and the krogan are still here, however.”

As John descended to the shuttle bay, he wondered if taking both Garrus and Wrex he might come across as too intimidating to the traumatized former marine ….

 

~ 0 ~

 

“Which way?”

Jane smiled at the quarian’s quick interest and focus on the job at hand.  “Through the doors on the far side of the market,” Jane told her as they left the stall where she had just sold off some of the excess gear they had collected of late.  Though it hadn’t brought much in the way of cash, it at least gave them something in return for their efforts.  

“We could just go back upstairs,” Alenko reminded her.  “There was another skycab station up there.”

“We could,” Jane agreed as they waited on the doors to open.  “And if we find there aren’t any available here, then maybe I will consider it ….”

Jane’s voice trailed off as she noticed the shadows shifting slightly off to their left upon passing through.  She couldn’t tell for certain how many were there, but the fact that there was movement indicated there was at least one person waiting.  The movement itself was enough to set the hairs on the back of her neck on edge.  Extending a hand to keep both Alenko and Tali behind her, she called out, “Show yourself,” in what she hoped was a neutral tone.

The shadows shifted again and this time, a face appeared in the dimly lit corner.  “Heh.  They told me it was you, but I didn’t believe it,” a gravely voice called out.  “McIntyre … all grown up and now a soldier.”

Jane felt the blood in her veins turn to ice.  She knew that voice.  “The name is Shepard,” she told him.  “Have we met before?”  There was always the chance she was incorrect, after all.  

The stranger moved towards her another step, then two.  Now that she could see him, Jane began to identify the shape of the face, the slouch of the shoulders.  A quick glance down at his hand and she found the star shaped scar on the back of his hand she knew would be there.  Oh yeah, she remembered him.

“Name’s Finch,” he told her.  “You probably don’t remember me, but we ran together in the Tenth Street Reds.”  Jane made no indication one way or another to his comment.  “Maybe you don’t remember it yourself, running in a gang.  None of the vids mention it when they’re talking about you.”

Jane kept her eyes on him, but moved her hands to her side and slowly around her back where she hoped her companions would see the hand signal she gave them to ‘relax but be prepared.’  “The vids never tell the whole story,” she responded.  “So, I presume this isn’t a social visit?”

Jane saw a twitch at the man’s lips, an almost smirk curving upwards for half a second.  “One of the Reds, Curt Weisman, got picked up by turians.  We’d like you to talk to the turian guard in the bar and get Curt out.”

Jane frowned.  “What were the Reds doing in turian space?” she asked casually.  “Seems a bit out of their normal territory.”

Finch chuckled.  “Since your days, the Reds have expanded.  We do some salvage, a little shipping here and there, that kind of thing.”

Jane tried to read his eyes, but in the dim lighting of the back alley it was all but impossible.  “You’re not asking me to break Weisman out of jail, are you?”

“Of course not,” he reassured her.  “But word has it you’ve got some pull with the aliens.  All we’re asking you to do is pull a little for us.”

Jane heard Alenko shift restlessly behind her and gave him another signal.  “What was this guy arrested for?” she asked next.

“Some stupid minor offense,” Finch replied.  “Maybe he had a little red sand.  You know how the turians are.  They declared him a problem, and they’re now shipping him back for trial.”

Jane paused again, considering what Finch had asked of her.  “Where is this guard?”

Finch nodded in the direction of _Chora’s Den_.  “Over in there.”

Straightening, she announced, “I’ll go talk to him and see what I can do.”

Finch seemed to take that as a positive sign as he stepped forward and offered his hand.  Jane took it.  “Thanks, McIntyre -”

“Shepard,” she corrected him.

“Heh.  Shepard.  I knew you’d remember your old friends.  Take care of this and you’ll never see me again.”  He turned and walked away before Jane could even turn around.  She turned slowly, but did not otherwise move.

“Commander -”

Jane lifted her hand to silence Alenko.  Inside her head, she counted out another minute before finally turning in the direction of _Chora’s Den_.

“We … we’re not really going to do this, are we?” Tali asked as they walked along.  

“Commander, do you really think that releasing someone like this Weisman is a good idea?” Alenko added.  “We know nothing about him other than what Finch told us and -”

Jane drew to a halt just before the doors to the club.  Turning, she offered Alenko a smile.  “Thank you,” she told him.  She almost laughed as he and Tali exchanged a quick look then faced her again.  “For not calling him an ‘old friend,’ I mean.”  Sighing, she decided it was best to tell them both a bit of her background.  “After my mother died, I was sent to England - on Earth,” she added for Tali’s benefit, “to live with my grandmother.  I was fifteen.  Within a year, my grandmother died and I was left alone.  No family.  No one, really.  I had no place to live.  I met a man named Weston while wandering the streets of London and he took me to another place he assured me would give me a bed to sleep in and at least two meals a day if I was willing to help out.  Not having any other option left, I went.”  

Jane paused a moment and pulled at the collar of her shirt, lowering it enough so that they both could see part of the tattoo on the back of her right shoulder.  “For almost a year I was a member of the Reds,” she told them.  “Within the first month I realized my mistake, but I had no choice but to stay.  Until John came to London and found me.  With his help, I broke away and ran off and enlisted in the Alliance.  And the rest, as they say, is history.”

She smoothed her collar and straightened her shoulders.  “I’m not afraid to admit to my mistakes,” she told them, “but it is all past.  Gone.  Done.  I have no intention of helping Finch or any of the other Reds.  So, if you both could just follow my lead for a little bit longer ….”

The _Den_ was crowded like always, but a few minutes after entering, Jane soon spotted the turian guard off to their right with Alenko’s assistance.  Approaching him, Jane nodded a greeting.  “A human named Finch wanted me to use my authority as a Spectre to free Curt Weisman,” she told him without preamble.  

“The xenophobe?” the guard replied.  Jane nodded.  “I should have known he’d have friends.  Thank you for the information.  We’ll increase the number of guards on his cell.”

“I knew you’d rat us out, McIntyre!”

Jane’s hand reached for and pulled her pistol to the ready as she turned to face Finch.  She heard both Alenko and Tali do the same with their weapons.

“Now it’s payback time!  When we’re through telling our story, the aliens will all know what the first human Spectre really is!”

“No,” Jane told him in a steady tone as she leveled her pistol on him, “you won’t.”

The bright flash of the shot was barely discernible in the pulsating lighting of the club.

“Impressive.”  

Jane turned to face the turian guard again.  She’d forgotten him in the moment, but it quickly became clear that he approved of her reaction to the situation.  “Thanks.”

“Perhaps the first human Spectre will not be a disappointment after all.  Goodbye, Spectre.”

Jane stared after the guard’s retreating form for a long moment.  

“Did he just …?” Tali began.

“Yeah,” Alenko agreed, the merest hint of anger causing his voice to drop lower, “he did.”

Shaking her head, Jane lead the pair back towards the skycab station, chuckling the entire time.  “I’m not sure if I should be offended or humbled,” she replied.  She glanced at her omni-tool and winced.  “Shoot, I’m going to be late.”

Alenko asked as they arrived and she called up a ca, “Hot date, Commander?”

Jane leveled her most officious Commander’s gaze upon the Lieutenant.  “And if I do, LT?” she asked while folding her arms.  Tali followed suit, neatly imitating the Commander’s posture.  

Chuckling, Alenko ignored the light flush of embarrassment that filled his cheeks just then.  “Uh … um ….  Absolutely nothing, ma’am,” he finally managed, hand rising to rub at the back of his neck.  “Absolutely nothing at all.”

Jane just grinned as he and Tali entered the vehicle.  Sometimes it was nice to be the Commander.  

 

~ 0 ~

 

“Say again, Skipper?”  Ashley stepped off the elevator as it arrived on the Presidium and turned to her right to follow the path leading around from the embassies and across the lake that ran down the middle.  

“Don’t push it, Chief.”

Ashley bit back a giggle at the irritation she heard on the surface of his tone.  “Commander, you really need to consider installing a mapping program of some kind on your omni-tool.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered.  “Just come meet me at the VAO, will you?  I’m not even sure how I got here, let alone how I get out.”

Ashley spied a skycab station ahead of her and started towards it.  “Well, that’s what you get for letting Garrus lead you in and then running off to have playtime before giving you directions out.  You really should have made him lead you out of there first.”

The sigh of exasperation was all she needed to hear to set her off into a fit of giggles that she could not control.  “Williams!”

“On my way, sir!” she managed, hoping it sounded at least a little bit regulation.  “Oh, and on our way back, can we stop by the markets and -”

“Chief!”

When the cab pulled in front of the VAO ten minutes later, Ashley remained inside the vehicle but opened the door so Shepard could get into the backseat.  Without a word to him at all, she focused on setting their next destination.

“I never did catch up with the Commander,” she announced when she turned to face him a moment later.  “I’ve been playing catch up ever since I left the ship.”

“That’s okay,” John replied.  He sighed and ran his hands over his face as he sat back.  A part of him wondered if perhaps he’d over reacted to the entire situation.

“That bad, Skipper?”

“Yeah,” he muttered.  “That bad.  Poor bastard was worse off than I thought.”  When he removed his hands, his eyes found hers.  “Zabaleta was apparently there, on the ground, when Jane’s mother was killed.  Hell, Mom said Sarah was leading Zabaleta’s squad.  That plus what they found on Mindoir when they arrived … no wonder the man’s still suffering ….”

“Skipper …  I’m sorry.”  It was rare that Ashley was at a loss for words, but this was one of those times.  She’d been young when Mindoir happened - all of twelve years old.  Living in the colonies herself at the time, of course she _knew_ it had happened, but the details of it all were hazy at best because she’d been so young.  

“Thanks.”

The last few minutes of the return trip were in silence.  As they exited the vehicle, Ashley nudged Shepard’s arm with her shoulder.  “There she is … complete with Alenko in tow.”

John turned to look and found both Jane and Alenko walking over to join them.  Frowning, he glanced around.  “Where’s Tali?  I thought she was with you?”

Jane chuckled.  “I would imagine she is skipping back aboard the _Normandy_ right now getting ready to try on her new armor,” she explained with a grin.  Though Tali had protested, Jane had insisted.  Even she was aware that armor suits could only be patched only so many times before it became more of an personal endangerment to go into battle.

“Nice!” Ashley commented, meeting the Spectre’s grin with one of her own.  “Which type?”

“Liberator.”  

Ashley’s eyes widened.  Turning back towards John, she murmured, “Hey, Skipper, permission to make a change to my request and -”

“No.”  

Folding her arms, she countered, “Now remember, I was taking care of a _personal_ favor.”

John sighed, his eyes rolling upwards.  “Williams ….”

“And, oh yeah, I _did_ come to the rescue again, did I not?”

Jane and Alenko glanced at each other before turning towards John.  “Rescue?” Jane murmured in surprise.

Scowling, John tossed a semi-good natured glare over at Williams.  “Fine.  But keep it reasonable.”

“Whooo!” Ashley crowed before grasping surprised and startled Lieutenant’s arm and pulling him along with her.  “Come on, LT, you can help me decide which one to get!”

“Damned space pirate is what she is,” John muttered.  

Jane stepped closer to him, slipping her arm through his as he began to lead them away.  “So … why don’t you tell me what precipitated you having to ask the Chief for a - what was it she called it?  A _personal_ \- favor.”

John glanced down at her and challenged back, “And Tali?  I know you better than that.  You got that last set of armor of hers just before we pulled out of the Citadel the last time ....”

 

~ 0 ~

 

As a Staff Lieutenant in the Systems Alliance Marine Corps, Kaidan Alenko was not one to stand for idle gossip or rumormongering.  In fact, he was prone to stopping such things from the first moment he heard them beginning, especially when on duty.  But right now, being pulled along through the Citadel wards by the Chief while off duty and on shore leave, he found it difficult to keep from asking, “What exactly happened that you had to rescue the Commander?”

Williams flashed him one of her quick, easy grins.  “What else?” she countered with a chuckle.  “He got himself lost. _Again_!”  

Kaidan laughed along with her, but he couldn’t help but suspect that there was more to the story than that.  Knowing John as he did from their previous duty assignment together, saying that the Commander had ‘gotten lost’ was a bit of a loaded statement, after all.  “And?”

Williams was slowing down finally as they reached the markets, and Kaidan was able to take a deep breath.  “And … well ….”  

He watched her glance around them to see who might overhear before turning to face him.  The look on her face though, the way her eyes narrowed in concern, triggered a similar reaction in him.  This wasn’t just ordinary gossip, if her reaction was anything to judge by, this was something more.  “What?”

When Williams stepped off towards one of the railings overlooking the Wards beyond, Kaidan followed.  There were others around, but not close enough to hear them.  “The Skipper ran into an old … friend while we were running errands earlier,” she finally explained.  “Later, he asked me to go find the Commander, to keep her distracted and away from the ship and this Zabaleta guy.”  She pulled her lip between her teeth and bit down before looking over at him.  “Something to do with when her mom died, I guess.”

Kaidan felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach.  This was hardly sounding good.  “So … who is this ‘Zabaleta guy,’ you mentioned?” he asked.

“A marine who served on the same boat their parents did.  Her mom was his squad leader.  Saw her die on Mindoir when they were sent in to respond to the colonists’ mayday.”

Kaidan winced.  He recalled the Mindoir incident easily enough.  He’d been nineteen at the time, remembered seeing news vids about what had happened.  “Shit,” he muttered.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Williams agreed.  “Turns out, though, I never could catch up with the Commander.  In the end, Skipper was calling me to come rescue his ass because he ended up at the VAO after escorting this marine there, but he didn’t know how to get back to the Presidium.”  She sighed and kicked the toe of her boot against the wall as she stared at her hands.  “Still say the man needs a map program for his ‘tool.”

Kaidan couldn’t help but laugh at that.  “Well, way I figure it, the Commander owes me still,” he pointed out.  At Williams’ incredulous look, he raised a brow.  “What?  Tali got new armor, right?”

Williams chuckled.  “Poor, you,” she teased.  “And it’s beginning to sound suspiciously like you three were off on your own adventure.”

Ignoring Williams’ knowing look for the moment, Kaidan nodded in the direction of the markets instead and countered, “It’s not like it would be just for me, right?  There’s a sweet little update back there that is currently going for a song.  I bet you anything it’s cheaper than your new suit of armor.”  His lips quirked up in a slightly wicked grin.  “And it won’t be a reward for blackmail, either.”

Williams chortled and straightened up.  “You’re on,” she agreed.  “Though,” she added as they began walking towards the market stalls, “the armor’s not a bribe, it’s payment for a favor.  Skipper promised he’d tell the Commander about what was going on so she’d be prepared for any fallout.”

“That’s good at least,” he agreed.  “So, where’s this armor you want?”  Williams grinned and pointed towards the volus’ stand down the way.  Nodding, Kaidan headed in that direction.  “Armor first, then tech.”

“And if I win?”

Kaidan’s smile widened.  “Don’t worry, you won’t,” he assured her….  

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay and if this one feels slightly off the normal pacing. Jane took a harder hit by events in the past chapter than I realized until I sat down to write it!

Back when she had first been made Spectre and Captain Anderson had given the _Normandy_ over for Jane’s use as such, she and John had had a long talk regarding the divvying up of responsibilities aboard ship and who would be in command.  After some discussion, both had decided that Jane, being the Spectre, would take on all operational and associatively related decisions while John would essentially take over as captain of the ship.  If it came down to a decision that crossed both of their commands, Jane would have the final decision because she outranked him; as an official arm of the Council she was an extension of their authority, after all.  

Currently, it was this crossover of responsibilities that left Jane thankful John was around as her backup.  As the _Normandy_ departed Council controlled space and returned to the Traverse, he took the lead while she sought out a way to regain her sense of calm.  The bombshell that John had dropped on her during their walk on the Presidium was taking it’s toll on her in that moment, and being able to rely on him just then was a godsend.

Over the years, Jane had learned to deal with the loss of her family.  It started at an early age - eight - when her father died.  As a result, she and her mom became especially close in the years that followed.  Whenever possible, they spent time together whether it involved homework, watching a movie while sharing popcorn or simply making dinner together.  Her mother’s sudden departure from her life when Jane was sixteen was devastating for her.  Following that, and though Jane understood the reasoning behind it, the decision to send her to stay with a grandmother she barely knew was difficult to accept.  Even so, she made the best of it in the short time that she and her grandmother had together.  Losing that last connection with her family six months into the transition was simply the last straw and left Jane alone, confused, and guided her down a path not entirely of her choosing.  

Since that time, Jane figured out how to accept the course of events her life had taken, even if she couldn’t understand fully why she had to be the one it focused all around.  However, acceptance did not dull the pain that remained.  With the memories brought back by John’s announcement, there was a return of the nearly constant ache and loss she had never quite lost.  Adding that into the mix along with her recent face-off with the Reds representative who cornered her down in the Wards, and Jane felt more than just a little drained just then.

Her first attempt at regaining control of her life was to try and sleep it off.  At times in past, this method worked.  Sadly, this was not one of those days.  Between nerves that took too long to settle for anything but a short catnap, and then waking suddenly and with horrific nightmares that were a blend of beacon-related images, memories of personal family tragedy and a little bit of God only knew what else, she didn’t dare lie back down and try again.  

At this point, Jane might normally have withdrawn to the crew deck and taken the few remaining hours she had to herself to hide out in the observation lounge, but given the popularity of that particular space with the rest of the crew, she opted instead to seek silence and solace in the comm room.  It wasn’t currently in use, the lighting was low enough that it would keep the minor throbbing of the headache that had come on the heels of her nightmare from flaring into something worse, and there were some darker corners in the room where a Lieutenant Commander trying to hide away from reality for just a moment or two longer could sit, knees drawn to her chest, and search for a way to bring back some sort of normalcy to her surroundings.  

It only figured that she would be found out by one of the crew.

“Commander?”

Jane’s shoulders jerked back involuntarily as her head snapped up, eyes blearily searching the darkened room.  “Alenko.”  Her voice came out flatter than she’d intended, but Jane couldn’t find the effort to care much just then.  Taking a swipe at her cheeks with the back of her hand, she began to rise.  “What did you need, Lieutenant?”

She noted that he moved through the dimly lit room with relative ease, and found herself wondering how he managed it.  When he stopped in front of her, she couldn’t help but ask, “What are you, Lieutenant?  Part cat?”

His voice was a soft, gentle rumbling chuckle around them.  “Something like that, ma’am,” he agreed with a smile.  

Now that he stood in front of her and she could see him a bit more clearly, Jane searched his eyes.  Inspiration finally hit when she recognized the deep creases at the corners - the  marks of someone used to pain.  “Your migraines,” she murmured, recollecting a discussion she’d had with Dr. Chakwas.

“Yes, ma’am.  I’m quite used to finding my way around in darker places.”

Taking a deep breath, Jane nodded.  “Noted.  Alright, you came in here with a purpose.  What did you need me for?”  The sharp switch between topics was intended, more for her own peace of mind than anything else.  The sooner she had something else on which to focus, the better.

“Joker has just brought us into the Dis system of the Hades Gamma cluster per your request.  He says we’re about an hour out from Klensal,” Alenko announced.

Jane accepted a datapad he handed over to her then.  Scanning the contents, Jane nodded before handing it back.  “With all of those abandoned mines down there, it might take a while to find these bastards,” she told him.

“Agreed, ma’am,” Alenko began, “but I have an idea on that.”

Jane was about to turn and start walking away to prepare for the upcoming mission, but his words caught her attention.  “Oh?”  

Alenko stepped over to the controls at the front of the room and brought an image of the planet up on the screen.  “I think we should run a scan when we get there, search for temperature variances and such.  We might be able to narrow the search area into something more manageable.”

Jane eyed the image for a moment while he pointed at different areas as he spoke.  After another moment, she agreed, “Sounds good.  Do it.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

It was while they walked beside each other to exit the room that Jane saw him dart a quick look over at her.  Glancing over, she asked, “Is there something else, LT?”

Kaidan stopped moving and Jane did the same, turning to face him just before the doorway.  “No, ma’am, except ….”  

He seemed almost flustered which left Jane confused for a moment.  “Except?”

“I was just wondering if you were okay.”

Jane’s eyes closed for a moment and she sighed.  So, he knew.  “John told you what happened?”

“No, ma’am … Williams,” he told her.  “And it was only after I asked.”

Jane nodded. John had told her about the Chief’s involvement in events.  “I see.”  Eyes opening again, she met his gaze.  “Lieutenant, I would greatly appreciate it if you would keep this to yourself.”

Alenko straightened, shoulders suddenly rigid, back straight and upright.  “Ma’am, I don’t intend to say anything to anyone,” he assured her.  “I just wanted to make sure you were alright.  I know a little something about the past coming back to haunt when you least expect it.”

Jane ran her hands over her face, silently chastising herself.  It was clear her reaction to finding out he had discovered that part of her background left her a little bit unsettled and caused her to respond in a much sharper manner than usual.  Then again, that was sort of how she was feeling at the moment - raw, sharp, ragged.  “I will be fine,” she replied after a moment, hoping her words sounded less irritated than a moment ago.  Turning back towards the door, she added, “Once we arrive at Klensal, see what you can do about that scan.”

“Aye aye, Commander.”

The brighter lighting of the CIC caused Jane to wince in discomfort, but it did not stop her from moving through the area.  She did not see John in the vicinity, so she turned towards the bridge, his usual haunt if not in the CIC when on duty.  There she found him looking through information Joker had brought up on one of the terminals. Stepping over behind him, Jane leaned over his shoulder to take a look.

“Feeling any better?” John asked, eyes darting up towards her.

Jane shrugged.  “Best I can expect, I suppose,” she replied quietly.  “What have we got?”

Though he hesitated a moment, John did turn the subject.  “One of the colder planets, though not as bad as some out there, I suppose.  Shouldn’t hold us back at all.”  He pulled up a ground map and began using his finger to indicate multiple different places.  “A lot of mines to hunt through, though,” he added.  “It could take us a few days to do a thorough search of the area.”

Jane followed his finger as he pointed to each area.  “Yeah, Alenko’s got an idea on that when we arrive,” she explained.  “He’s going to try to narrow our choices down.”

Nodding, John switched interfaces, pulling up additional information on the planet.  “Sounds like him,” he replied.  “Always looking for ways to make the mission go more smoothly.”

Jane couldn’t help but chuckle softly.  Then, recovering herself, she asked, “Do we know anything more about these guys?”

John shook his head.  “Just the little bit Helena Blake gave us.”  He paused here before turning to face her.  “This … doesn’t bother you at all?”

Jane’s brow quirked upwards as she noted that he seemed discontent with some part of the mission.  “Hmm?  What do you mean?” she asked.

“This whole … I don’t know.  Tracking down crime bosses, destroying their organizations, all so Helena Blake can move on in and take over control.  Make it more ‘respectable’?  That doesn’t sound like your usual way of things.  And, you can’t tell me it doesn’t sound fishy to you.”  

Jane held his gaze, reading the uncertainty behind them but unsure if it was directed at her, at Helena Blake or at the mission in general.  Offering him a smile of reassurance, Jane replied quietly, “John, you and I have seen first hand the dangers of red sand addiction.  I think we both agree that eliminating these groups will help.  Add in the fact that they’re selling people into slavery for not paying up, and ….”  

John nodded.  “No, I get that.  But handing it all over to Helena Blake?” he countered.  “Taking from two crime bosses to give to another and make her more powerful?  That just - you haven’t changed _that_ much over the years, Jane … have you?”

Jane smiled and patted his shoulder.  “One step at a time, John.”

 

~ 0 ~

 

Alenko’s scans of the planet upon their arrival did assist in narrowing down the likely areas for the location of the criminal hideout.  Both Jane and John were pulled in for a briefing of his results, and after several minutes of discussion, Jane opted to take two teams planetside.  “Because I just _know_ how much you want to go surveying while we’re down there,” she teased John.  She then sent a quick message via omni-tool to the others to meet up in the shuttle bay for imminent deployment.

Once they were on the ground, Jane had John leave her and her team on the back side of a ridge separating them and the entrance to the mine.  Sending Garrus and Williams to either side with instructions to wait until they had engaged before using their sniper rifles on their targets, Jane then led Wrex and Alenko towards the main entrance.  

They managed to make it close enough to use biotics before their presence was discovered and the battle ensued.  The moment the first shouts of alarm went out Wrex barrelled on ahead leaving Jane and Alenko to follow.  While they fought their way through the mercs, Williams and Garrus were busily offering support from their locations.

“Williams, Vakarian, let’s go,” Jane commed a short while later as she, Wrex and Alenko waited outside door leading into the mine.  

Their entrance while unhindered, did not go unnoticed.  As Jane had suspected, the mercenaries had congregated in the wider open, center of the mine.  There, they found that plenty of space to position crates and other gear for best advantage and clear sniping shots had given the mercs the advantage.  

“I smell trouble.”

Garrus’ words rumbled around them as Jane triggered the lock to open the door.  Whether he actually did smell trouble or simply was reading the layout of the mine as she was, Jane didn’t know, but the words were enough of a warning to heed.  “Be ready,” she told the others.

Shots were being aimed at them from the moment the door cleared enough for them to enter the room.  Both Garrus and Ashley moved quickly to high points on either side to gain a sniping advantage.  Wrex barrelled on into the thick of things almost immediately.  As Jane followed, she caught Alenko’s gaze and saw the smile mixed with bemusement at the krogan’s actions.  She tossed the Lieutenant a quick grin before shifting to her left.  He took the right.

It was only a matter of minutes before Wrex’s voice at the back of the area bellowed out, “Area secured, Shepard.”  

“Garrus?  Williams?” she called on her comm just to make certain.

“My sights are clear, Commander,” Williams assured her.

“Agreed,” Garrus added.

“Alright.  Come on down and spread out,” she told them.  “I want to know if we can find out anything more on the other group from these guys.”

Jane headed towards the back of the mine to speak with Wrex while Williams, Alenko and Garrus began investigating the central area.  “Wrex?”

The krogan grunted assent as he turned to face her.  “That shaft leads to another room,” he told her, pointing to the right.  “The other one’s not finished yet.  Stops just inside the doorway.”

Nodding, Jane followed him back to the first side room.  “Anything worth saving in here?”

He pointed to a line of lockers on the far side of the room.  “Didn’t have a chance to look.”

“Alright.  Help me out here.”

They had just opened the last of the lockers when Jane’s comm flared up.  “Commander?”  It was Alenko.

“Go ahead, Lieutenant.”

“You’re going to want to see this, ma’am,” he told her.

“On my way.”  Rising, Jane told Wrex, “Just grab it all and we can look through it once we’re back aboard ship.”

The krogan reached for a nearby empty crate and began tossing everything inside.  “Got it, Shepard.”

Exiting the room, Jane made her way back into the central chamber.  She found Alenko on her left near what looked to be a series of crates set in a somewhat fortified position.  “What have you got?” she asked.

Alenko turned, his eyes finding hers immediately.  “Nothing good,” he told her as he handed over a small data pad.  

Jane scanned the information.  The Lieutenant had been taking inventory of the crates and as she read off the list of contents, she realized he was right.  She wasn’t liking this one bit.  “Wow,” she muttered as she got to the end, “Helena Blake wasn’t kidding when she said they were scum.”

“No, ma’am,” he agreed.  His back was to her again as he finished investigating.  “Hold on.”

Jane stepped over beside him, pushing herself up on her tiptoes to peek over the edge.  “What is it?”

He reached inside, retrieved a different datapad and then began to scan it.  Jane watched his face, observing how his eyes darkened, his gaze narrowing the more he read.  “It’s a list,” he told her.  “Looks to be names.”  He scrolled back to the top of the list.  “Ship names … shit!”

Jane blinked and stepped over to glance over his arm at the information to get a look at it herself.  “What?”

He seemed startled by her move, and one arm dropped so that he could half turn to face her and allow her better access.  “Sorry, ma’am.  It’s a manifest of sorts, I guess,” he explained.  “Of the people they sold red sand to … who couldn’t pay up.”

Jane gasped softly, eyes darting up to meet his.  “The ones they captured and sold into slavery?”

He nodded.  “That’s what it looks like, ma’am.”

The sound of the door behind them opening had Jane turning to find Wrex exiting the back room, crate in his arms.  Reaching for her comm, she called, “Williams?  You and Garrus done?”

“Yes, ma’am,” was the reply.

“Head on out.  We’re right behind you.”  She gestured Wrex to head on out too.  To Alenko, she said, “Is there anything else out here we need to hold onto?”

The Lieutenant took a long look around the open area.  “No, ma’am.  Most of it’s just assorted equipment and gear that any normal mercenary group might have.  Nothing special.  Most of it’s sub-par anyway.”

“Alright,” she told him, taking a step back.  “Hold onto that list.  When we get back aboard, we’ll need to see what measures can be taken to try to find and rescue these people.”  She gave Alenko a dark look.  “I want you working on that personally, LT.”

Alenko pocketed the two data pads while nodding.  “Yes, ma’am.  Be glad to.”  

“Alright then,” Jane told him, nodding towards the exit.  “Let’s move out.”

 

~ 0 ~

 

“Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” John asked.

“I suppose not,” Liara agreed from her position in the back.  Tali had warned her to belt herself in well and she was beginning to understand why as Shepard made the return trip to the mine.

“Left here, Shepard,” Tali told him.  “The mine is on the other side of that ridge.”

“Got it.”  For all the grief he took regarding his navigational abilities (and he could admit to the truth of it at times, though not aloud to anyone except maybe his wife), he knew he had a pretty good handle on driving the vehicle itself.  

_“John, can you hear me?”_

John nodded over at Tali who triggered the communications device.  “Go ahead,” he told his wife.  

_“We’re ready for pickup.”_

“Almost there,” he replied.  “How’d it go?”

There was a hesitation before she responded and for a moment John had to wonder if something had gone wrong.   _“Mission objective achieved,”_ she finally announced.   _“Now let’s go get the rest of these bastards.”_

While Tali and Liara might not have picked up on some of the more subtle messages Jane’s announcement had brought, John certainly had.  It didn’t outwardly appear anything had gone wrong, but there was something in her tone that indicated he wasn’t going to like what they had found.   _Great_.  “On it,” he told her.  “ETA ten minutes.”

Nine and a half minutes later, John pulled the Mako to a stop at the mine entrance.  Liara opened the door then moved to the side as Wrex tumbled in first, moving to stow his box.  Garrus, Williams and Alenko followed.  Tali opted to move to the back with the others allowing Jane the chance to sit up front and brief her fellow N7 on what they had found.  

While Jane and the others buckled up, John signalled the _Normandy_ for pick up then began driving towards the rendezvous point.  During the drive and their retrieval by the _Normandy_ , Jane brought him up to date.  “Blake wasn’t kidding, John,” she told him harshly as they exited the Mako minutes later.  “There’s hundreds of names on that list.”

John ignored the rolling of his stomach at the thought.  “Alright.  As soon as we finish in the system we can -”

“No,” Jane cut him off, turning on her heel to face him as her hand made a sharp cutting movement through the air to emphasize her point.  “We head out to the other base now.”

After setting his weapons on Williams’ work table to be cleaned and stowed away later, John turned back to face Jane.  “Look, we have no firm evidence of anything beyond a list of names and the ships they were shipped out on,” he felt obliged to point out.  “An extra day or two isn’t going to make that much of a difference.  We’ll make sure we’re not going off on some wild goose chase and -”

Jane reached out and grasped his forearm tightly, anger flashing from green eyes.  “Slavers, John!” she growled in irritation.  “The same types of piratical bastards responsible for events like what happened on Mindoir!  You and I both saw and experienced first hand what they did to Elysium!”  

John sighed.  He recognized the level of determination and stubbornness in her tone.  She wasn’t going to be talked down from this.  Still, he had to try because at the moment she was being reckless and allowing her emotions to guide her decisions.  “I’m well aware of what happened on Mindoir,” he reminded her curtly, “and Elysium, but running off half cocked before we even finish researching this?  That’s not smart thinking, Jane, and you know it!  We don’t even know if any of these people are still alive.  This list could be years old.”  Out of the corner of his eye, John could see the others wandering off, clearly not wanting to be present for this discussion.  He couldn’t blame them, really.

“I want you and Alenko on that list,” Jane told him.  “If you’re so adamant we have things confirmed first, you can assist.”  She then spun on her heel and stalked over to the elevator.  He was still standing at the workstation as the doors closed after her.  “Damn it!” he muttered before turning to strip off his armor and place it in his locker.

“Skipper?”

Sighing, John called over, “It’s okay, Chief.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked as she crossed to her station.  

Another sigh.  “Just make sure our gear is ready to go,” he told her.  Rising, he glanced over at her.  “Whether we head to Mavigon immediately or in a couple of days, we’ll need it in top shape.”

Williams tossed him a smile.  “You got it, Skipper,” she promised.  As he turned to trace Jane’s path to the elevator, she dared to toss out, “Sir?  You might want to let her have awhile to cool off, you know?”

John smirked back at her.  “Don’t worry, Williams,” he told her with a little extra added bravado, “I know.”

 

~ 0 ~

 

Jane stood under the heat and sting of the shower spray for twice as long as she might have under normal circumstances.  But these were hardly ‘normal,’ were they? she mused.  Regret had come quickly, as it usually did when her anger peaked and made itself known to her husband.  She had a fiery temper, one that dated back to her youth, and one that she had worked especially hard on over the years to keep under control.  By this point in her life, Jane liked to believe her temper had evolved into a much longer fuse.  

Except for certain situations.  Slavers.  Batarians.  Pirates of the worst sorts.  People who preyed upon those who could not defend themselves.  Destroyers of the innocents and those trying to protect them ….

_Janie, you need to let that go.  You know good and well your father and I gave our lives protecting those who could not protect themselves.  You cannot blame anyone for that._

Eyes tight, Jane lowered her head to rest against the forearm she had braced against the wall.  “I can,” she whispered painfully, “because those sorts of people shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it!”

_Jane, you watch over those you can, you protect them and accept that it will have to be enough because you can’t protect all out there who might need it._

The sound of her father’s voice in her head nearly broke her.  Before now, it was always her mother who spoke occasional words of guidance and wisdom.  The last time she’d spoken with her father she’d been eight ….  “Dad.”  The cracking in her voice was the only indication of her current emotional state after this discovery.

_Jane-Bug, you do the best you can.  That’s all you can do.  It won’t always seem fair and it definitely won’t always feel right, but it’s the best you can do._

“Oh, god ….”  Turning, back solidly against the wall, Jane slowly sank to the floor while ignoring the water trickling down and mingling with the tears.  She’d almost forgotten the nickname he used for her when she was little.  

_Do the best you can and know that we’re proud of you._

Jane lost track of the time after that, only realizing that her time in the shower had been extensive when the sharp and prickling sensation of cold water against her skin brought her back to the present.  Rising, she turned the flow off and stepped out to dry off and dress.  

Returning to her cabin, Jane knew what she needed to do.  And, while she hated to admit she’d been wrong, especially to him, she also understood that she needed to resolve this issue sooner rather than later.  If the crew suspected that there was some sort of strain in her relationship with her husband, it would inevitably start affecting them adversely too.  And besides, she and John had always had a relationship where they could admit to the other when they were wrong.

Reaching up, she pressed her comm button to link directly to him.  “John?”

“I’m here,” his voice trailed back a moment later.  

“Do you have a moment?”

“Can you meet me in the comm room?  Alenko and I are right in the middle of -”

Jane bit her lip.  “I need to apologize.”

There was a pause at his end of the connection.  Moments later, though, he managed to surprise her.  “Come on up here,” he suggested.  “I might need to do the same.”

Walking into the comm room a few minutes later, Jane wasn’t surprised to find the view screen loaded up with different images and Alenko off to the far right working diligently at one of the terminals.  John she found off to the left.

Waving her over, John handed over a data pad before she could start talking.  “Me first,” he insisted.  When she lifted a brow at that, he offered a smile.  “I know how hard on yourself you can be.”

Glancing down at the datapad, Jane scanned through the information there.  Occasionally, she would glance up at the different pictures - another long list, photographs of several different cargo ships and the last one a map of Mavigon.  

“From everything the Lieutenant and I have been able to find out so far,” John told her, “the names on this list,” he gestured to the list on the screen which Jane suddenly realized was the list Alenko had found on Klensal, “are recent.”

Jane blinked.  “How recent?” she asked.  

“Within the last six months,” Alenko called over before rising to join them.  Before he left his station though, the screen shifted, bringing up an image somewhat akin to the galaxy map.  “We haven’t quite narrowed down all of the destinations,” he explained, “but we have been able to determine most of the points of origin.”  

Several small green blips began blinking on the map.  Jane recognized the locations, at least in a general sense.  They were all colony worlds in the Traverse … and too many for them to deal with on their own.  “Damn.”

“Looks like you were right,” John told her.

Jane sighed, eyes shifting to meet his.  “Maybe,” she agreed, “but I think you and I both know I went about it the wrong way.”

Taking her arm, John nodded over at Alenko before leading Jane out of the room.  In silence, they descended to the crew deck and towards the galley.  Jane prepared a cup of tea; John selected coffee.  Once ready, by silent agreement, they headed towards the observation lounge which was, thankfully, empty.  

Taking seats beside one another, Jane turned to face him.  “John, I’m sorry.”

John extended a hand and watched as she slid hers into it.  Squeezing it tightly, he said softly, “So am I.”  

And just like they, they both found the situation resolving itself.

 

~ 0 ~

 

After the assault on the base on Klensal, Jane determined that the location on Mavigon would require the full squad.  She had no proof that this group of mercenaries had been alerted to impending attack, but she prepared for that eventuality just in case.  And, while their opponents numbers were about the same as before, Jane felt justified in her preparations when they found the base to be located in a below ground science station.  While John, Wrex, Garrus, Williams and Tali held off the opponents out in the main room, Jane took Alenko and Liara and snuck around the main battle to eliminate any threat from the rear … and to keep anything from being destroyed or reinforcements called in before they could get to it first.  

Investigation of the base after the fighting was over, however, provided little more in the way of details regarding the individuals being sold into slavery.  The only satisfaction that could be gained out of it, as Jane saw it, was that both groups had been eliminated and could no longer work to that end of things.  It might not be a huge cog in the giant wheel of intergalactic slave trading, but it was one cog that would no longer be working.  That was something at least.

Upon return to the _Normandy_ , Jane spent a long time in her cabin writing up the report she eventually sent off to Admiral Hackett and to Captain Anderson.  She was still in her cabin a couple of hours later when a call from the Admiral came in.  

“Admiral,” she greeted him as the screen flickered to life in the room and his face appeared before her.  

“Commander.  I received your report.”

Jane nodded and waited patiently.  She could hear the silent ‘and’ at the end of his statement.

“Are you certain you want us to hold off on looking into this?” he asked.  “If it’s as bad as you say -”

Jane straightened.  “Sir, I sent you a copy of the information we retrieved from the first base.  You are certainly free to investigate it if you so choose,” she said, “but I have an idea that might eliminate the need for that.”

She noted the look of surprise in his eyes and bit back a smile.  It was not often one could catch Admiral Steven Hackett off guard or by surprise.  “Why don’t you enlighten me, Commander,” he suggested.

Jane took the next half hour to do just that.  She explained how she had come upon the information, the process by which she, John and Alenko had determined what they had as well as her justifications for her follow up plan.  All of this, of course, was in her report, but he did not stop her and so she laid out her entire case before him.  Not once did he stop her or try to cut her off.  

“And when do you intend to attempt this?” was all he asked after she finished.

 Jane felt a smile pulling at her lips.  He was giving her his approval.  “I need to send out a request for a meeting,” she told him.  “Once I receive affirmation on that, I will go in.”

“You really think this will work, Commander?”

Jane nodded.  “I do, sir.  If something should come up between now and then, I will let you know and I will back away from the situation.  Like I said earlier, I think this is an opportunity.  My impression of the situation was that it is an entirely achievable goal.”

“And if it proves otherwise?” he countered.

“I will do what is necessary for mission success, sir,” she promised.

The door to the cabin whooshed open then and Jane glanced over to see John starting inside, pausing only when he realized that Jane was speaking with the Admiral.  Waving him in, she turned her attention back to the admiral.  He, too, noted John’s arrival.  “Commander.”

“Sir.”  John saluted smartly.  “My apologies for the interruption.”

“None needed, Commander,” Hackett told him.  “But I would like to know what you think about this hair-brained scheme your wife has cooked up.”

John’s eyes widened and he glanced between the monitor image and Jane.  He could see amusement in both sets of eyes, but he did not take the bait.  “I think the plan will work,” he replied instead.  “And if not, then we’ll eliminate any additional threat to operational security and the Alliance can take over search and recovery efforts.”

“Alright.  Keep me in the loop on this, Commanders.  I will contact Anderson and let him know where I stand on things.”

Jane and John both straightened, arms flying upwards in salute.  “Thank you, sir,” they both chorused as the image faded from the screen.

Turning, John looked down at Jane in bemusement and asked, “What the _hell_ did I just walk into?”

Jane laughed.  “I’d just explained in detail our plan to recover these slaves,” she told him.  “Don’t worry, your answers supported mine.”

Rolling his eyes, John crossed over to sit on the edge of the bed.  “I wasn’t worried about that,” he said.  Lying backwards he sighed.  “So … now that this mission is in a holding pattern for the time being, what next?”

Jane moved over to sit beside him.  “Well, I contact Helena Blake to find out when she’ll be at that third set of coordinates.  In the meantime, I think it’s time we go and investigate what’s going on at Feros.”  

John’s eyes widened and he pushed himself up to rest on his elbows.  “Feros?” he echoed.  

Jane nodded and handed him a datapad.  “Udina had Anderson forward this to us while we were on Mavigon.  Looks like Saren is still a step ahead of us.”   _Again._  Rising, she turned towards the door and waving him back to the bed when she saw him trying to follow.  “Go ahead and rest.  I know you just came off duty watch.  I’m going to go set the galaxy map and get us underway.  I plan to have a full briefing in a few hours.”    

John didn’t bother to argue as a yawn overcame him.  “Alright.  See you then.”


	11. Chapter 11

“Commander, do you have a moment?”

Liara stood in the entryway between the medbay and the outer hall, her eyes falling upon the Spectre as she spoke to one of the servicemen - Greico, if Liara remembered correctly.  It had taken the three hours since Shepard’s announcement of the landing teams and all the gumption Liara could muster to approach the Commander like this.  

It wasn’t that Liara was afraid really, just … well, she felt awkward speaking with the human woman.  To be more specific, she felt completely lacking in skill and competency when it came to speaking with _any_ of the humans aboard the _Normandy_.  Liara understood why this was, of course, and overall, her social awkwardness wasn’t limited to the human species as a whole, but for some reason the limited experience and exposure she had come upon in her one hundred and six years simply had not prepared her for dealing with them in an appropriate manner on a daily basis.  

Turning away from Greico, the Commander offered Liara a smile of welcome and stepped over towards her.  “Sure, Liara.  What’s up?”

Liara read the Commander’s reaction correctly, she thought.  Bright green eyes reflecting her interest, full focus and attention on Liara.  But still, nervousness toyed with the asari, in the back of her mind if nowhere else.  Taunted her.  Glancing around their immediate area at the other crew members currently moving about, Liara managed, “Is there … is there somewhere we could talk?”

Liara recognized the moment that the Commander’s interest became concern.  Something shifted in the woman’s eyes.  “Of course,” Shepard replied, turning to lead them across the way to the observation lounge.  Inside, the room was currently empty.  “Will this do?”

Liara gave the Commander a weak smile of thanks.  “Yes, this will do just fine.”

Inside the room, Liara watched as Shepard closed the door behind them, separating them from the outside world.  They were now alone.

“So,” Shepard asked again, though her tone now had an edge of concern to match her eyes, “what can I help you with?”

Liara felt the butterflies in her stomach take flight again in that moment.  Swallowing back the anxiety, her hands began wringing together as she sought out how to verbalize her concerns.  “I was wondering … if maybe you have been dissatisfied with my contributions to your mission,” she finally stammered.  Liara glanced over at Shepard and saw the woman’s eyes widen in shock.   _Oh goddess,_ she thought, _I’ve misspoken again!_  “No … I … what I mean is …”  Liara closed her eyes as she felt a strong wave of humiliation overtake her.

The touch of a hand on her arm had her eyes popping back open immediately, however.  “Liara, it’s okay,” Shepard assured her, a smile still in place.  “Just relax and tell me what it is that’s troubling you.  I’m not going to bite, I promise.”

_Bite?_  “I …”  Liara took a deep breath, held it for a long moment, then slowly released it.  Ignoring her confusion for the moment and making a mental note to look up the phrase later, she continued.  “I am sorry, Commander.  Please forgive my awkwardness.”

Shepard chuckled softly, but kept the smile in place.  “There is nothing to forgive, Liara,” the human assured her.  “Now, what is it that’s troubling you?”

Turning away, Liara wandered over to look out at the stars through the large display window.  “I suppose I was wondering at my … usefulness.  To your mission, that is,” she added, glancing back at the Commander.  This time, she noted, there was no shocked expression crossing Shepard’s face.  

“You’ve been quite helpful since joining us,” Shepard assured her as she walked over to stand beside the window.  “What brought all this on, if you don’t mind me asking?”  There was a pause before she added, “Has someone suggested that you -”

“No!” Liara insisted immediately.  And then more calmly, “No, that is not what I was trying to suggest.”  Her hands moved a bit more frantically against each other.  Finally pulling one away, she pressed her fingertips to her temple.  “Commander, what I am trying to ask, and doing a rather poor job of it I am afraid, has more to do with why you are not taking me on this mission.  I know I am the newest member of your team, and I understand that trust is a difficult bridge to build, especially between species, but -”

Shepard’s hand rose and made a sharp movement, startling Liara into silence.  “That isn’t it at all,” the Commander told her.  “When I asked you to take on the responsibility of deciphering the prothean data discs we’ve discovered, I meant it.  You are the only one of us who has any experience with the protheans.  I’m hoping that might give you an advantage into cracking them.”  Shepard offered a sincere smile.  “Liara, I’m still trying to figure out all that I saw with that beacon back on Eden Prime.  If there is anything in those discs that can help with that ….”

Liara nodded.  “I see.  I … I understand, Commander.  I will put my efforts fully into this project, I assure you.”

Shepard chuckled softly.  “I know you will.”

Something in what the Commander said a moment before struck a chord with Liara, but it wasn’t until Shepard was turning away and leaving the room that it dawned on her just what it was.  “Commander … one more thing,” she called out, crossing halfway before halting.  

Shepard turned back.  “Yes?”

“Your visions.  I think … No, I _know_ of a way that might help you understand them better.  Or,” Liara corrected herself, “at least a way to share the information so that further input can be given.”  Shepard blinked twice, but said nothing.  “There is an asari joining process, a melding of minds, if you will.  It is similar to our mating rituals, but the goal is not to procreate, rather to share information.  Ideas.  Memories.”  Liara felt her cheeks heat a little.  “It is a rather … personal experience, usually shared between close friends, but it _would_ allow you to let me ‘see’ what the beacon showed you.  I could then determine if any of your visions matched with any of my research, and from there ….”

Before Shepard could reply, a beep interrupted them and she glanced down at her omni-tool.  Liara saw the grimace and realized it must be mission related.  “Liara, that sounds like something we should discuss in more detail,” Shepard finally said, her hands typing out a rapid reply on her omni-tool at the same time.  Then giving the asari her full attention once again, she asked, “Can we talk about it after I deal with Feros?”

Liara nodded.  “Of course, Commander.”

Shepard flashed a brilliant smile, one Liara could see reached the woman’s eyes and certainly implied interest.  “Good.  In the meantime, let me know if you find out anything from those discs, okay?  Even if I’m in the middle of the mission.”

Liara nodded again.  “It will be done,” she agreed as Shepard turned and exited the lounge.  Liara followed her out, but instead of following Shepard to the CIC, she headed back to the small lab that Dr. Chakwas had given her use of.  If nothing else, it was quiet and she had access to whatever resources she needed in her attempts to decipher the prothean data discs.  

 

~ 0 ~

 

As Jane hurried through the CIC towards the bridge, she noted that the ground team was standing near the hatch ready to go.  Finding John beside Joker, she walked over and asked, “How close are we?”

“Descending now, Commander,” Joker informed her.  “Comms are all silent.”

Jane darted a quick look up at her husband.  “ _That_ can’t be anything good,” she muttered.  John’s only response was a soft grunt of agreement.  “Alright, Joker.  Take us in, nice and easy.  Keep comms open while we’re gone in case we need to request reinforcements.”

“Got it,” the pilot replied.  “Taking her in now.”

Turning, Jane exited the bridge and walked over to the others.  “Tali,  Wrex, with John.  Williams, Alenko with me.”  She looked over at Garrus who had joined them.  “Keep an eye on things here, Garrus.  I don’t know what’s going on out there, but I don’t want anyone messing with my ship.”

“Uh, that would be _my_ ship, Commander?” Joker called out as he brought them into the docking bay.

“Who pays for the gas?” Jane called back over her shoulder in easy banter, ignoring John’s knowing chuckle behind her.  

“Point taken.”

Garrus’ mandibles fluttered a bit in amusement.  “Got it, Commander.  I’ll do my best to keep Joker from taking any joy rides.”

The _Normandy_ ’s hatch opened a moment later and Jane led her people out.  John moved up to her left, Alenko to her right and the others fell in behind as they moved forward.  

“Commander, I’m not getting any signals,” Alenko informed her as he pulled up his omni-tool.  “No mapping, no comms - nothing.”

Jane frowned.  “Not even the _Normandy_?” she asked.

“No, ma’am.  Something is jamming us.”

John growled, pulling up his own ‘tool and pressing some buttons.  Jane knew he had programs similar to Alenko’s, but she also knew he’d been tinkering with them quite a bit since Eden Prime.  Despite being a techhie herself, she could admit her husband was just a bit better than she was at hacking and adapting on the fly.  She also recalled the discussions he and Tali had been having of late and wondered if that had anything to do with it.  “Same here,” he muttered.  “Not a damned thing.”

Jane unholstered her pistol and signaled the others to be prepared.  “Geth?” she asked.

“Most likely, Commander,” Tali replied.  “Whatever it is has an advanced understanding of our scanning and radar technology.”

“Geth,” Williams and Wrex both said at the same time.  

Jane nodded.  “Sounds like it, yeah.  We had some issues with this on Eden Prime, too.  Any chance you can override it, Tali?  John?  Alenko?”  Jane knew her own abilities in technology were limited to other areas.  

Alenko shook his head.  “Not from my end.”

John turned towards Tali and they both fiddled with their omni-tools for a moment.  “Nope,” John told her a minute later.  “Hell, I still can’t get a read on anything or anyone inside the _Normandy_.”

“Come on you little bosh’tet!” Tali muttered as she tapped hurriedly.  However, another minute or two and she was shaking her head as well.  “Sorry, Commander.”

Jane smiled at the quarian around a laugh.  “That’s okay,” she replied.  “I’ll let it pass, but you _have_ to explain to me later what a ‘bosh’tet’ is!”  Tali’s laughter in response to this had a rather embarrassed ring to it, but she just nodded.

“Commander, look.”  Williams’ call had Jane turning and following her hand gesture down the docking bay.  At the far end, she could see a human male approaching them.  He looked to be young, not much older than a teenager maybe, but if he was there then perhaps that meant that whatever was jamming their sensors wasn’t Geth after all.  “Come on.”

“We saw your ship,” he announced as Jane approached.  “Fai Dan would like to speak with you immediately.”

“Fai Dan?”  Jane took a quick look around, but saw no one else.  “Who’s Fai Dan?”

“He’s our leader.”

Jane nodded in understanding.  “And you are?”

“David al Talaqani.  Fai Dan sent me when we saw your ship overhead,” he explained.  “We need your help preparing.  The Geth are readying to make another push, and -”

A sudden flash of light blinded Jane for a moment, but the scent of burned flesh and David’s cry of pain told her more than enough as to what had just happened.  “Take cover!” she shouted, reaching down to grab David by the collar and pull him out of the line of fire.  Around her, she could hear the others engaging in battle.  Jane glanced down at David before moving to join them, realizing belatedly that it was too late.  She reached out, searching his neck for a pulse, but her fingers finally told her what she already knew to be true: he was dead.  “Dammit!” she muttered.  

“Two shock troopers to the left,” John called out.  

“I see ‘em, Skipper.”

Jane slid in behind a wall next to Alenko and Tali.  Rising just a bit, she peered over the edge and towards the end of the docks, counting the numbers of enemy she could see.  “At least a squad to the right up there,” she called out.

Wrex’s familiar battle roar announced his ideas on the matter as he began barrelling out ahead of them.  Eyes rolling, Jane muttered, “I swear, he thinks he can just bowl them over.”

Alenko chuckled.  “If it takes the pressure off …?”

“What do you mean, ‘bowl’?” Tali asked.

“Bowling is a human game,” Alenko explained.

“You use a ball to knock down pins,” Williams added.  “The more pins you knock down, the better your score.  Usually accompanied with beer, pizza and cosmic lighting.”  That said, she moved out of cover and stormed after Wrex, John following on her heels.  

“I wonder if the Citadel has a bowling alley,” Jane mused.

“Minus the lighting, I might be agreeable if they do,” Alenko told her.

“Alleys?  You play this game between buildings?”

Jane chuckled at the quarian’s confusion.  “Sorry, Tali.  I promise, I will explain more later.  But for now, let’s go.”  As she moved forward, a sudden movement to her left had her turning, biotics flaring and immediately after, a warp escaping her fingertips as a mostly-dead shock trooper tried to rise again.  Allowing Alenko and Tali to move on ahead of her, Jane turned and gave the thing one last shot in the head with her pistol to be certain it was down for good.

Moving on ahead, Jane fell in behind John and Williams.  Alenko, Tali and even Wrex were taking cover on the opposite side of the path, and it soon became clear why.  A number of shock troopers were lying in wait just ahead of them.  Jane scooted up as close as she could to John before rising up to peek over the edge of their impromptu barricade.  She wasn’t surprised when John grabbed hold of her arm and yanked her back down followed immediately by a shot that zipped across where her head had been.

“Why do you always _do_ that?!” he hissed.

Jane blinked, her eyes fixed on the direction of the shot.  “They’ve got snipers, too,” she observed.

“I’d say at least two,” Alenko called over.  “I saw two targeting beams.”

An explosion just between the two sides rocked everyone as a rocket landed between them.  “Dammit!”  Williams choked out, coughing and falling backwards, landing on her rear at both Shepards’ feet.  

“You okay?” Jane asked.  She knelt beside the Chief and pulled out her omni-tool to do a quick medical scan.

After a moment spent clearing her lungs, Williams nodded.  “Just … peachy,” she managed when finally she got some clean air.  

John turned towards Jane.  “Give me a couple of your grenades,” he told her.  “I’ve got an idea.”

Jane handed them over without hesitating, though she countered by asking, “This isn’t going to wind up with you shot through the leg again, is it?”

John barked out a short laugh.  “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

Satisfied that Williams would be just fine, Jane returned to her position and darted upwards quickly to take another peek.  As she dropped, two more shots fired overhead.  “Nope.”

“Live what down?”

Jane smirked over at Williams.  “Elysium,” she replied.  

“Three that time,” Tali called over.

“That’s alright,” John told her, “I’ve got something extra special for them.”  Moving to crouch by the edge, John peeked around and threw the two grenades into the group of Geth blocking their path.  “Fire in the hole,” he warned the others as he pulled back.  The resultant explosion a moment later shook the ground beneath them.

It didn’t take long to realize that whatever John had done to the grenades had worked.  Wrex launched himself forward again once the smoke began to clear and the others followed.  

Turning to their left, Jane started visually scanning the area surrounding them as they moved up a set of stairs.  

“It’s those hopping things again,” Alenko warned as he caught sight of the pests from Therum.  

“Knock it down,” Jane ordered, her own hand moving to catch one in a biotic throw that would land it almost at Wrex’s feet.  The krogan chuckled as another landed on top of the first.  “Heh. Heh. Heh. Just where I like them.”

It took some doing, but their opponents soon were gone and Jane finally led the rest into the heart of the colony a short while later.  They were met, not unexpectedly, by armed colonists, but as soon as Jane announced who they were, the civilians relaxed.  “Where’s Fai Dan?” Jane asked one of them.

The woman turned and pointed to the opposite side of the colony.  “He’s over there.  The Geth keep coming up from the tunnels, from the port, from everywhere,” she explained.  “We have all entrances and exits manned.”

They found Fai Dan and after a brief interruption by another push by the Geth, Jane was able to spend a few minutes talking to the man.  He couldn’t tell her much, just that the Geth kept attacking and that they were coming up from the tunnels below the colony.  He also informed her that some of the other colonists - those in charge of critical areas - could use her assistance.  To this, Jane sent John, Tali and Alenko off to speak with them.  Williams and Wrex remained with her.  Her discussions with Fai Dan concluded for the moment, Jane turned to look at them.  “Sounds like this transmitter’s leading the Geth right into the tunnels which then funnels them up here,” she murmured.

Williams nodded.  “Target the transmitter then?” she asked.

Jane nodded.  “One team can go down and take care of the transmitter, while the others help shore up defenses here,” she suggested.  “Use our time here as efficiently as possible.”

“Or,” John called out as he joined them, Alenko and Tali right behind him, “we can all go.”

Jane’s brow lifted.  “Something else going on I need to know about?” she asked.

“Someone’s shut off access to the colony’s water,” he told them.  “Also, they’re desperate for food and one of the colonists says there’s good varren meat down there, ripe for hunting.”

Jane’s eyes narrowed.  “But?”

John grinned at her.  She could always read him so well.  “But, there’s an alpha varren, wild and vicious.  Between him and the Geth, the colonists can’t get in close enough to get at the others.”

“Alright,” Jane agreed.  “We all go.  Anything else I need to know?”

“One of the colonists asked we keep an eye out for some power cells for the generator,” Tali announced.  “When I suggested some from the _Normandy_ , she told me the ones she needs are an older model.  She thinks there’s some old equipment down in the tunnels that might have what she needs, but no one’s been able to get down there to check.”

Jane nodded.  “Okay … so transmitter, water lines, power cells and varren meat.”  As she spoke, she ticked each item off on her fingers.  “Am I forgetting anything?”

“Sounds about right,” John told her.

“Good.  Let’s go.”

It took them the rest of the afternoon to make their way down to the tunnels.  Aside from the extra requests, there was also the fact that there were plenty more Geth down below willing to take them on.  It was not an easy task, though Wrex seemed to enjoy himself immensely, and in the end Jane could admit that having them all together was probably for the best.  The transmitter that was calling the Geth into the tunnels was taken out after John and Tali rigged it to explode when certain systems crossed and eventually overloaded.  With that threat gone, they went in search of the varren.  Or, rather, Wrex led the search and the rest just followed along.  There was, apparently, no way to stop a krogan battlemaster once he got going.  

“You know, Commander,” Williams said as she and the others remained back, picking off any stray varren that approached while Wrex fought the alpha male one on one, “I’m thinking we might need to keep meat off the menu for a few weeks after this.”

“Can’t say I disagree with you there, Chief,” Jane replied.  It wasn’t the sight of the dead varren, but the stench of the creatures that was currently turning her stomach.  She vaguely thought of donning her breather helmet, but realized that the air filters would only purify the air, not remove the smell.  

“What’s the matter, Shepard,” Wrex bellowed as he walked over after defeating the the alpha male and at least four others singlehandedly, “delicate sensibilities?”

Jane managed a chuckle at that.  “One of these days, Wrex,” she told him, “I want to know where you’re picking up these human phrases.”

Wrex just laughed and lifted two of the varren carcases over his shoulder to take back to the colonists.  “One of these days, Shepard,” he replied as he wandered off to meet up with John and Alenko, “I might just tell you.”

As she stood watching him exit the collapsed section of tunnels, Williams stepped over beside her and murmured, “And here you were wanting an entire squad of krogan battlemasters on our side.”

Jane threw a dark look over at the Chief.  “That was _you_ , not me, Chief.”

Nodding Williams towards the exit, Jane glanced up at the top of the incline caused by the rubble.  “Coming, Tali?” she called.

“Just a … second, Commander,” the quarian called back.  

A few moments later, the quarian scampered down the incline while tucking something into one of the pouches at her hip.  “What’s that?”

“Power cells,” Tali explained.  “Those old Grizzlies are a perfect match for the same type of power cells that the colonists’ generator uses.”

“Nice catch,” Jane replied as she followed after Tali.  “I hope they are appropriately ….”

Jane’s voice trailed off as she and Tali came out into the main portion of the tunnels only to come to a sudden halt because Wrex and his varren, Williams, John and Alenko were blocking the way.  Jane soon found out why.  John was apparently talking to someone on their left who, by the looks of things, was a colonist.  But what was he doing down in the Geth infested tunnels?

She didn’t have time to ask as a shot from the right alerted them all to another small squad of Geth approaching.  Tali and Jane moved to protect the colonist while the others took care of the Geth.  Kneeling beside the man, Jane asked, “Won’t you come back with us?”  However, he simply hunched over, arms rising to wrap around his head as he rocked back and forth muttering incoherently about fighting the good fight or something.

“Jane, come on,” John called.  “He insisted he’s staying down here.”

Their return trip to the colony was not without its own adventure.  Jane wasn’t certain if it was because Geth were still sneaking into the tunnels or if they’d simply missed some along the way, but she and her team did face stiff opposition on the return to the colony.  When they finally made it back to Zhu’s Hope, Fai Dan assured them that no Geth had threatened since the Spectre and her squad left.  

Sighing, Jane remained talking with the man while the others delivered the items they had promised.  “Geth are still getting in,” she warned him, “but the transmitter in the tunnel has been destroyed, so hopefully that will keep their numbers to a minimum.”

“Thank you, Commander, for all you have done.  We should be able to deal with any Geth stragglers,” Fai Dan assured her.  “At least now we stand a chance against them.”

Jane’s lips pursed.  “If you help me find what they are after, you all will get out of here alive,” she pointed out.  

Fai Dan shook his head.  “We don’t know what they are after,” he told her.  “They came, they attacked.  That’s all we know.  Their main base seems to be at the ExoGeni headquarters.  I would suggest looking there for answers behind their actions.”

Jane nodded.  “Fair enough.  How do we get there?”

“You can take the skyway across,” he told her.  “It leads directly there.  There should be some vehicles still left down in the garage area.  Take one of them to get you across.”  He paused a moment and gave Jane an almost pained look before speaking again.  “Of course, there’s an army of Geth between here and there,” he eventually managed.

Jane smiled.  “That’s why they sent us,” she replied.  “Alright, I’ll leave you a few of my people to help secure the defenses here.  If nothing else, it will give your people a chance to rest.  This will all be over soon.”

As she turned away, she heard Fai Dan add, “And then maybe I can get this colony back to normal.”

Jane went searching for John and found him talking with Alenko and Wrex.  “Got a minute?” she asked.

John nodded at the other two and turned to walk off with her.  “Sure.  What’s up?”

“You’re getting the call on this one,” she told him.  They wandered through an open area, nodding politely at the colonists who otherwise ignored them.  There was something about it, though, that struck Jane as odd.  Something she had noticed upon their arrival and was only reinforced by their interactions since.  Even the expression she’d read in Fai Dan’s eyes had triggered her infamous gut instinct.  “I want you, Tali and Wrex to head over to the ExoGeni building and check it out.  See what’s going on over there and if you can’t find out what the Geth are after.”  Her eyes rose to meet his.  “Alenko, Williams and I will stay here and hold down the fort.”  

John frowned.  “What is it?” he asked quietly.  

Jane shook her head.  “Not sure.  Anyway, we’ll find a way to coordinate with the _Normandy_ to shore up defenses at this end.  And, John?”  

“Yeah?”

“Get those communication lines open ASAP.  I can’t tell you why, but I have a feeling your return might be tougher than your departure.”

He nodded before turning to walk off.  Jane went to hunt down Williams and Alenko.  Something odd was going on and she intended to find out what it was before it caused any problems.

 


	12. Chapter 12

The journey across the skyway that connected Zhu’s Hope and ExoGeni’s headquarters was not without its adventures.  For that matter, with Wrex manning the cannon from the moment he entered the Mako, and Tali navigating from the seat beside him, John drove into a confrontation with the geth the instant the vehicle left the garage.  It wasn’t anything they couldn’t handle, however.  Even after a drop ship deposited more troops in their path, the geth remained easy pickings for the krogan battlemaster.  At one point, Wrex was even lucky enough to take out two geth who were, for lack of any better way to describe it, peeking up from below, and this with one lucky shot.  By the time the Mako made it across the first length of damaged sky bridge, John was fairly certain any and all geth opposition along that stretch was well out of the way.  At least for now.  He fully expected reinforcements to pose a threat on the return journey.

As they neared the weigh station that marked the midway point between the colony and the ExoGeni building, Tali began picking up a transmission.  From what they were able to follow through the slightly garbled communications, there were people in hiding … people who had picked up their vehicle on their scans.  It took some doing, but by the time the Mako came under cover of the weigh station area itself, Tali had narrowed down the transmission’s source to a bunker a half level beneath them.  

Exiting the Mako, John waved off Wrex and Tali as they started reaching for weapons.  “Be prepared,” he warned, “but these sounded like refugees from the geth.  We need to find out what’s going on first.  We _don’t_ go in guns blazing.  Got that?”

“Got it, Commander,” Tali replied.  Wrex looked disappointed, but after a hard look from John he grunted his agreement as well.

Leading the way down to the underground bunker, John made certain the people on security watch could see his arms raised, no weapons in sight.  “Commander John Shepard, Systems Alliance,” he told them when they lowered their weapons.  “Who’s in charge here?”

“Heh,” one grumbled, irritation in his tone, “good question.  It’s one of those two.”  He pointed to a man and a woman in the center of the bunker who appeared to be arguing.

Nodding, John began walking towards them, Tali and Wrex following close behind.

John was on his fifth step towards them when the man shouted out, “That’s close enough!”

He slowed his pace somewhat, but did not stop, especially when a woman beside him gave him a look of scorn and said, “Relax, Jeong.  They’re obviously not geth.”

Jeong scowled back at her and ordered, “Get back, Juliana.”

Unimpressed by the man’s demeanor in handling the matter, and noting as Jeong turned to face him that Juliana was rolling her eyes in exasperation, John finally stopped.  

“Who are you?” Jeong demanded, his mood just as sour as it had been to Juliana.  “What do you want?”

Moving to stand at ease, John replied easily, “Name’s Commander John Shepard.  I’m here to remove your geth problem.”

It was difficult to miss the smug look of satisfaction that crossed Juliana’s face as she moved around Jeong to speak again.  “You see?  You worry too much, Jeong.”

Jeong sniffed.  “And you trust too easily, Juliana.”

Turning away from Jeong, Juliana faced John.  “I’m just glad to see a friendly face.  I thought we were the only humans left on this planet.”

John managed a smile for her.  “Fai Dan and some of the other members of Zhu’s Hope are still alive,” he told her.

Juliana scowled at Jeong again.  “I thought you said they were dead,” she accused.

John thought the man looked a bit startled by the bite in her tone.  “I said they were probably all dead,” he defended himself.  

“They’re still alive,” Tali assured them, “but the geth have hit them pretty hard.”

Juliana sighed, eyes closing for a moment.  “We know what that’s like,” she replied.  “Those damned synthetics are relentless.”

John nodded.  “We’ll do what we can to keep them away from you,” he promised, “but I need some information first.”

Jeong seemed to bridle at John’s request and in that moment, the Commander recognized the man for what he was.  ExoGeni had a reputation for being very guarded when it came to the information they released about their research.  They took the philosophy of “company secrets” to an all new level.  Jeong’s attitude from the moment they’d arrived seemed to back that up as well.  “What kind of information?” Jeong demanded.

Clearly done with the man and his behavior, Juliana advised, “Ignore him.  The geth are up in the ExoGeni headquarters.  It’s just a bit further along the skyway.”

Jeong’s scowl darkened and focused solely on John.  “Those headquarters are private property, soldier.  Remove the geth and nothing else.”

It was all John could do not to roll his eyes this time, and for the briefest of moments he thought he could see amusement twinkle in Juliana’s.  If so, he couldn’t blame her, especially if she’d been having to deal with Jeong for a while now.  “I have no interest in your company secrets,” John assured him.

John was just turning away, Tali and Wrex both moving back towards the entrance, when Juliana hurried over beside him.  Her hand reached out and touched his arm, as she murmured, “Commander, before you go …  My daughter Lizbeth.  She’s missing …”

Jeong’s voice rose louder to carry across the room.  “They shouldn’t waste time poking around.  We can do a proper accounting of casualties after the geth are gone.”

Juliana’s previous scowls turned to full fledged and dagger sharp glares, John noticed.  “That’s my daughter you’re talking about!  She’s still alive.  I know it!”

Reaching out, John patted the woman’s hand where it rested on his arm.  “Where’s your daughter, Juliana?” he asked.

Juliana’s entire body seemed to sag in relief that he was listening.  “She was in the main ExoGeni building when the geth attacks began.”

“There’s several places up there she could hide,” Jeong insisted.  “For a short time.”

John ignored him.  Instead, he directed his attention fully upon Juliana.  “If she’s in there, I’ll get her out.”

Juliana smiled, her relief a palpable thing.  “Thank you, Commander.  Thank you.”

Turning, John followed his companions back up to the Mako.  The trip forward was just as fraught with geth and danger as the previous leg, but with Wrex manning the cannon again and chuckling his way through the battles, it was almost a festive atmosphere inside the Mako.  Almost.  John pulled the vehicle to a stop a short while later when they could take it no further, but even as he and Tali were preparing to exit, the krogan was still shooting through the opening leading into another passageway.

“Wrex, come _on!_ ” Tali muttered, giving him the hardest shove she could to get him out of the vehicle.  “They’re plenty of geth out there just waiting to face you one on one.”

That was enough to get the krogan moving, and as he barreled inside the building, leaving Tali to form up beside Shepard.  “I hope the Commander is having an easier time of it back at the colony,” she muttered to John as she pulled her shotgun out.  John’s only reaction was an amused chuckle.

 

~ 0 ~

 

Within minutes of her husband’s departure, Jane briefed both Alenko and Williams regarding their purpose.  Protect the colonists.  Shore up the defenses.  Keep the geth away.  This began with assisting the colonists in any way they could.  While Williams led several of them back into the tunnels to retrieve more of the varren to store away for food, Jane and Alenko assisted with the replacement of the power cells in the generator.  When it became clear that the Lieutenant’s skill in this area was far superior to hers, Jane left him to finish up while she wandered around the rest of the colony to make sure there weren’t any other areas in desperate need of attention.  

Spying a woman at a control panel nearby, Jane walked over and introduced herself.  “Is there something I can help you with?”

The woman looked up at Jane, a rather dull look in her eyes that had the hackles on the back of the Commander’s neck inexplicably rising.  “Just running diagnostics on the ship,” she explained.  “I’ve got this.”

Glancing around, Jane asked, “How much damage is there?  Will you be able to get her back in working condition once the geth are defeated?”

She shrugged.  Tossing a quick look in the direction of Ledra, the salarian merchant Jane spoke briefly with earlier, she countered, “ _He_ promised us a fortune if we made this trip.”

Jane swiveled to glance in the salarian’s direction.  “How many of the crew made it?” she asked gently.

“I’m the only surviving.”  Another shrug.  A lingering sadness behind dark eyes.  “It’s not so bad here once you get used to it, I suppose,” she concluded, the dullness returning again.  

Jane chewed on her lip, turning back towards the console.  “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help?” she asked.  “I could watch over the diagnostics for you if you want to go rest or -”

Jane was surprised by how quickly the woman’s demeanor became hostile.  Two other colonists moved towards them then, too, as if to back her up.  “I said I don’t need help,” she grumbled.

Lifting her hands in supplication, Jane took a step backwards, then another.  “That’s fine,” she told them reassuringly, turning away only after a few more steps had put more distance between them.  

Frowning at the peculiar behavior during that encounter, Jane went in search of Alenko.  As she rounded the corner, near Ledra’s ‘shop,’ she literally bumped into the Lieutenant.

“Sorry, Commander!”  Alenko’s arms extended quickly to grasp her arms and keep her from falling.

Blushing, Jane shook her head.  “Nope … my fault entirely on that one,” she told him with a wry smile.  “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”  She nodded a moment later to indicate she was steady enough and he released her.  “Any word from Williams yet?”

Alenko nodded.  “She radioed to say they were on their way back.  So far, so good, she said.”

Jane sighed.  “Good.”

“And those other varren Wrex carried back are currently being prepared by the colonists,” he told her, nodding across the compound in the direction from which he had come.

Jane managed a neutral look.  If she had her way, she would be eating ration bars this evening.  And considering the general disgust with the things, a sentiment that was a generally held Systems Alliance view, that was saying something.  “I … think I’ll pass,” she muttered.  

Alenko chuckled.  “Where’s your sense of adventure, Commander?”

Jane pursed her lips and tossed him a mocking scowl.  “Quite well tempered by my sense of self-preservation.”  She was about to turn away and suggest they take over manning the defense for a while when she saw him wince in pain.  “You alright, Alenko?” she asked.

His nod was careful, she noted.  “Migraine,” he informed her.  “Not too bad yet, but ….”

Jane winced.  “If it’s a migraine, it’s bad enough,” she told him.  She knew he suffered them mostly due to the L2 implant he’d been fitted with for his biotics.  Once hearing about them, Jane even checked in with Dr. Chakwas to see what else might be done to help the Lieutenant when he had such episodes, but the doctor informed her that Kaidan had his own routine in place for dealing with the issue, and that unless he specifically asked for assistance, she would allow him to manage it for himself.  “Do you want to go lie down?” she offered, gesturing towards the hospital wing.  “I’m sure they have a bed to spare if you think it might help.”

“I -”  She saw him swallow tightly, the creases at his eyes deepening as he winced against the pain yet again.  “Maybe … maybe you’ve got a point, Commander,” he rasped.

Jane chuckled softly as she helped him turn around and moved to walk beside him.  “That _is_ why they put me in charge,” she quipped.

Alenko groaned.  “Ma’am … please … don’t make me laugh ….”

Biting back amusement, Jane guided him into the hospital area and towards an empty cot.  She grabbed a blanket and a pillow from the supply shelf and helped him settle in.  “I’ll check back on you in a while,” she promised.  Hopefully, the dim lighting and the quiet would help his migraine pass more quickly.

“Thanks, Commander.”

Exiting through the back of the building, Jane spotted Fai Dan and his security chief, Arcelia and turned to speak with them when she caught movement in the tunnels beyond.  Reaching for her pistol, she was about to unsheathe it when she recognized the familiar colors of the armored soldier approaching.  “Williams.”

The Chief stepped aside so the colonists could take the varren on ahead to the kitchens.  “Ma’am,” she replied.  She glanced around.  “Where’s Alenko?”

Jane sighed.  “Migraine,” she told the younger woman.  “I got him to lie down in the hospital wing for a while.”

Williams whistled softly beneath her breath.  “Damn.  If he’s down, it must really be bad,” she muttered.  

Jane nodded.  “Yeah.  Anyway, how about you and I go see about relieving those on watch at the entrance to the compound?  We’ll let them have a chance at a good meal -”

Williams snorted as they began walking.  “Don’t know how ‘good’ varren meat is,” she broke in.

Jane chuckled.  “I’m with you there, Chief,” she admitted.  “However, these people have been struggling without for days, so if that’s what they want to eat, more power to them.”

Williams nodded.  “Agreed, ma’am,” she replied as she moved into position and let Jane do the talking.  

 

~ 0 ~

 

Liara pushed herself back from the console, hands rising to rub at tired eyes.  Several hours before, she set the prothean data discs she was working on aside.  Without specific and currently unknown technological advances in place, there just wasn’t any way to decipher them at the moment.  Through careful manipulation of the discs and a bit of creative thinking on coding for her console, however, she managed to at least look at some of transcriptions … but beyond that, she could do nothing with them.  They were, simply put, too different in context and content, to understand. Even though she could pick out certain pieces given her familiarity with the prothean language and her research, she had no real foundation for transcribing what was there.

Her frustrations causing her anxiety (and fear of disappointing the Commander), Liara wandered away from her office for a short while, deciding to make a cup of tea.  She checked in briefly with Garrus as to the status of the ground team, and reassured that all was going as well as it could for the time being, she returned.  But that left her with the question of what to do next.  Shepard had specifically asked for assistance with the prothean data discs - but until Liara came up with some new, ingenious, never before tried method of decryption she was good and stuck.  However, Spectre Shepard also left a second set of discs for Liara to research.  Copies of ancient asari writings they came across during their journey, and which now had Liara’s full attention.  And Liara was finding them to be fascinating in more ways than one.

But after hours of staring at the writings and with few personal breaks save for a fresh cup of tea or something to eat, the strain was finally getting to her.  She could hear voices on the other side of the wall, one of whom was obviously Dr. Chakwas.  The other, if Liara could trust her ears just then, sounded suspiciously like Garrus.  She was just turning away from her desk, preparing to rise from her chair, when something caught her eye on the screen.  Frowning, she turned back.  She already decided that this particular writing was referencing something on a planet in the Attican Beta, but there was something about the word she saw ….

The sound of the door sliding open and footsteps entering the room did not manage to pull her away.  

“Liara, Dr. Chakwas says you’ve been at this for a long time.  Don’t you think you should take a break?” Garrus asked.

“In a moment,” she breathed, arm extending to wave him off, forefinger of her other hand tracing the lines of print on the screen as she reread them.  Eyes wide open, entire body on alert and being fueled by adrenaline, _this_ time the words sank in.  

_“.... Mention of and extensive interaction with the ‘Old Growth’ during the prothean era is not as rare an occurrence as it was first believed.  He lured them in somehow.  Bent them to his will.  Studied them.  Absorbed the information their minds once held.  He found in them that which will lead to the survival of asari culture eventually, though there is little room to speak of it here.  His precise location is not documented at this time, yet I believe it to lie between Orcan and Vardet, the two moons of ….”_

“Feros!”

Liara sat back with a loud gasp, hand rising to her lips as she spun around to face Garrus.  “I think … I think I have something,” she informed him, blue eyes wide with awe.

The turian blinked.  “Have what?” he asked, confusion clear even in his subharmonics.

Waving him over beside her, Liara turned back around and scrolled the page back towards the top.  “I couldn’t make any progress on the prothean discs Shepard asked me about,” she explained.  “There just is not enough known to know how to transcribe the little information I can access.  So I turned my attention to the asari writings instead.”

Garrus nodded.  He’d been on one of those missions.  That, at least, he knew (sort of) what she was talking about.  “Okay.  And this is one of those?”

Liara nodded.  “It is.  It appears to be various entries over time.  They are chronological despite their infrequency.  Mostly, they appear to be descriptions of certain places visited by Matriarch Dilinaga during her travels.  This one,” she scrolled down and pointed to the comments in the side margin, “appear to be a visit to Feros.”

Garrus frowned as he stared at the screen, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of the asari language.  “How old are they?” he asked.

“Thousands of years,” she replied.

Garrus made a sort of rumbling humming noise in the back of his throat.  “And you’re certain this is in reference to Feros?”

Liara nodded.  “If for no other reason than she mentions the location being between Orcan and Vardet.”  She glanced up at him.  “Those are the two moons of Feros.”

“Huh.  Well, sounds good enough of a match for me,” he agreed.  “But what exactly is it that you found?”

Liara felt all of the effervescent excitement inside of her over the last few minutes suddenly disappear.  Shoulders sagging just a little, she managed a sheepish smile up at him.  “I … I am not sure,” she admitted.  Sighing, she added, “I will admit that I was about to take a break - the last few entries I have read sort of went … what is that human expression?”

“Went in one eye and out the other?” Garrus offered.

Liara chuckled softly.  “Yes, that is the one.”  She sighed and ran a hand across her face.  “I will need to go through it again to see if I can make more sense of it.”

“Hmm.”  Straightening up, Garrus turned towards her.  “Well, I’m no doctor,” he mused, “but I think perhaps a real meal - not these snacking trips you’ve been making to the galley - and something to drink might help you get back on focus.”

Liara nodded and rose to her feet.  “I think you might be right,” she told him as she followed him out the door and through the medbay.

“I don’t suppose I could talk you into getting some rest?” he asked next.  His mandibles fluttered as she raised an eyebrow at him.  “I promised the Commander I’d make sure you didn’t work too hard.  Something about a discussion you both had before she left?”

“Ah.”  Liara nodded and smiled.  “Well, maybe after I take a more detailed look at that entry,” she promised.  “After all, it might help them on their mission.”

 

~ 0 ~

 

A yawn as weariness began to stalk her caught Jane off guard as she stood at her position.  The last of the colonists were finally wandering back to their posts after taking the time for a meal and a short break from the stress and strain they had been under nearly constantly for who knew how long.  At the same time, Jane began to notice that the mission was beginning to take a toll on the Chief as well.  For the past couple of hours, the younger marine had gradually become less talkative, her normal exuberant and at times irreverent manner fading into the silence.  Realization came slowly, much to Jane’s chagrin, but by the time they left the guard post, it was blatantly obvious that something was bothering Williams.  “Chief, you okay?” Jane asked.

“Yeah.  Just … a bit of a headache, I guess,” she replied as they walked back to the center of the compound.  Her hand rose to rub at her forehead.

Jane frowned.   _Another headache?_  “How bad?”

Williams shrugged.  “Not too bad,” she insisted, “but enough that it’s obvious it’s there.”

Jane’s frown deepened.  Coming to a halt, she turned to face the Chief.  “Williams, if you’re indisposed, get yourself to the hospital wing.  Pronto,” she ordered.  

Williams shook her head.  “Nah, I’m good,” she said.  “Ma’am.  It’s just … I dunno.  Rations, maybe?  Not enough nutrients for the environment?  Or maybe it’s something in the air?”  She shrugged.  “Guess it’s a good thing I’m not a scientist, huh?” she joked.

Jane sighed at the suggestion that environmental factors could be involved.  Sadly, she knew good and well that could be the case.  Rations were easy enough to take into the field on missions, but they were a poor replacement for full nutritional value of a decent meal.  “Got any left?”

“One or two.”

Jane nodded towards the area where the colonists had provided them with a place to sleep.  “Eat another one then go lie down for a bit, see if that helps.  I’m going to check on Alenko then I’ll be right over.”

“Ma’am -”

“Do it, marine.  That’s an order,” Jane barked, not willing to take no for an answer.  “Otherwise I send you back to the ship and take Garrus out instead.”  Jane noted the look of horror in Williams’ eyes at the thought of being replaced on a mission.  “Go on,” she added a bit more gently this time.

Once assured Williams was headed off to rest, Jane turned to make her way back to the hospital wing.  Alenko and one colonist were the only people in the room at present.  Jane hesitated at the doorway - the colonist appeared to be resting calmly, and Alenko might have been asleep for all she knew (it was difficult to see across the now darkened room), but his voice a moment later assured her he was awake.  “Commander?”

“Hey,” she called out quietly, electing to step inside the room after all.  Moving over to take a seat beside him, she asked, “How’re you feeling?”

His hand rose to press against his temple.  “Like I’ve been run over by a geth Colossus,” he replied.  “But it could be worse, I suppose.”

“Have you eaten anything?” she asked next, reaching into one of her hidden pockets and retrieving both a ration bar and an energy bar.   _Biotic metabolisms,_ she mused silently.  

The Lieutenant took both items.  “Thanks.  I have some stashed away somewhere,” he pushed himself up on an elbow and looked around a room that was mostly shadows, “but I’ve no idea where.”

“Not to worry,” Jane replied.  “I always carry spares.”  

Jane’s head turned as she thought she heard a sort of low humming thrumming sound in the distance, but she couldn’t place it immediately, and when nothing came into view that would explain it right away, she dismissed it.  “Feeling up to coming back on duty?” she asked Alenko.  “Or do I need to send to Dr. Chakwas for some industrial strength painkillers?”

The Lieutenant managed a small laugh.  “I always carry a couple extra doses of those on missions, too,” he admitted.

Jane grinned.  “What are you, a boy scout?”

“Something like that, ma’am.”

Shaking her head, she repeated her question.  “So, what’s it to be?  Back on duty or back to the doc?”

Slowly, he pushed himself further upright until he was sitting straight.  “I’m good, ma’am,” he told her.  

Jane kept a close eye on him as he stood, watching for signs to the contrary.  She suspected he was a lot like Williams when it came down to fulfilling duty requirements.  But his movements were steady as he donned his armor and gathered his things in the dark.  “Still think you’re part cat,” she muttered as they exited the hospital wing a short while later.

Alenko, mouth filled with a bite from the ration bar, simply smiled.  

Outside of the building, Jane again noticed the sound she’d heard earlier … a sort of humming thrum.  Frowning, she glanced around them, left to right.  “Do you hear that?” she asked.

“Yeah.”  Jane looked over at Alenko as he seemed to lurch suddenly to their right.  She also noticed the hint of blue beginning to snake around his hands and wrists and forearm.  Relying on his instincts, she reached for and began pulling mass effect energy from the air around her in preparation for whatever it was that had caught the Lieutenant’s attention.  

“Alenko,” she called over to him, when it became apparent there was no immediate threat bearing down on them.  Nodding towards their quarters to the left, she added, “Regroup over there.  Williams is inside.”

“Aye aye, Commander.”

What bothered Jane the most as they moved was while the noise was getting louder, there was no sight of an actual specific threat against them.  However, just before she ducked into their room after Alenko, something in the sound struck a chord of recognition in Jane, identifying the sound to her.

It was a moaning sort of groan, and it was _definitely_ of human origin.  

“Shit!”

“Commander?”

Jane turned, her back against the door as she faced the other two.  “Williams, how’s the head?”

When the Chief glanced upwards, Jane saw the answer behind the dark brown eyes.  What she saw there was more than just pain.  Whatever was out there, whatever it was that Jane had seen affecting the colonists and could well be behind the sounds outside was now affecting her crew.   _HER crew._  Jane felt the first stirrings of anger inside of her.  Anyone who knew her, knew her well enough to understand that _NO ONE_ messed with her crew.  

“I’m … I’ll be … good,” Williams groaned.

The noise outside was getting louder.  Jane waved Alenko over.  “See if you can’t find a way to lock this.”

He knelt beside her, all focus on the task at hand while Jane continued speaking to Williams.  “Chief … can you try to reach the _Normandy_?”  By this time, however, Williams was doubled over on her cot, curled up in obvious agony.  Jane was about to reach for her own comm to try to contact the ship when she heard the sizzling of fried circuitry beside her.  “Did you get it?”

Alenko’s wince was sharper this time as he looked up at her.  “It’s not pretty, but it should last for a little while.”

“And not a moment too soon,” Jane observed as the first poundings at the barricade began.  

Taking a step backwards, away from the distraction, Jane finally reached up and pressed her comm.  She hoped John had taken care of the geth jamming issue by now.  “ _Normandy_ , can you hear me?”  All that came through was the same static as earlier.  

“Commander,” Alenko warned, “that door isn’t going to hold forever.”

Jane saw him reach for his pistol, but she moved quickly and caught his arm.  “No,” she told him.  “If they’re armed and they start shooting at us, that’s one thing.  But I don’t want to kill them if we don’t have to.”  When he looked doubtful, she reminded him, “We have the advantage, Lieutenant.  Biotics.  Hand to hand combat training.  We rely on those things first, not weapons.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

A sudden blast of loud static burst through Jane’s comm causing her to snap her head backwards and to the side in a sharp motion.  

_“Normandy to shore party … can you hear me?  Anyone?”_

“Joker, that you?” Jane replied immediately, taking another step backwards so she could hear more clearly.  “What’s your status?”

“We’re in lockdown over here, Commander.  The civilians have seriously freaked!  They’ve started banging on the hull, trying to break through!”

Jane glanced over at Alenko who, she noted, was keeping a close eye on their door.  “Yeah, we’ve got a similar situation over here,” she replied.  “The _Normandy_ should be fine though.”  A sudden thought occurred to her.  “Joker … can you reach John via comms?  Can you get us connected?”

“Give me just a minute,” Joker promised.

“What’s going on?” Alenko asked, backing up to stand beside her.  

“Same thing - civilians are attacking the ship.  Joker says they’re banging on the hull, trying to break through.”   Jane glanced down at Williams.  “Can you take a quick look at her?  She was starting to have a headache before I went to check on you.  I’m worried it’s somehow tied into,” she waved a hand vaguely in the direction of the door, “all of this.”

Alenko  moved to kneel beside Williams, his omni-tool flaring to life as he did.  “Headache?” he echoed.

Jane nodded.  A loud pounding at the door had her glancing back quickly, but the improvised lock seemed to be in place.  “Yeah, that struck me as odd, too.”

“What about you?” he asked.  “Any headache?”

Jane blinked.  “Uh … no?”  She winced as another loud thump against the door reverberated.  “Well, nothing other than the racket they’re making at the moment,” she clarified.  

Alenko rose and moved back beside her.  “She’s in a lot of pain,” he announced.  “Probably will need one of those industrial strength painkillers you mentioned earlier.”

“No doubt.”

Her earpiece crackled again, and Jane lifted a hand to press it.  “I’m here, Joker.”

_“Commander … Finally got him.”_

_“Jane?  What’s going on over there?  Joker said something about the colonists attacking?”_

Jane turned as the pounding grew louder.  Alenko released the omni-tool and prepared his biotics.  “Yeah,” she replied, “that’s one way to put it.  I see you got the jamming issue cleared up.  Good job.”

_“Won’t be worth much if we can’t get back to you in time,”_ John replied.   _“What’s your status?”_

“Pretty much same as Joker’s.  Only we’re stuck in a housing unit in the center of the compound.  Alenko’s jimmied the lock so they can’t get in, but I’ve no idea how long that will last.”  Another crash, the loudest one yet, shook the walls around them.  “Damn.”

_“Fine - we’re coming in, guns blazing.  Maybe that will make them scatter.”_

“No!” Jane insisted.  “John … I don’t know how to describe it, but this … this isn’t them.  Hell, for that matter, it’s affecting Williams,” she darted a look over at the Lieutenant, “and Alenko to a lesser degree, I think.  Both are suffering from severe headaches, and both, at varying levels, are showing signs of that same subdued reaction that the colonists have been exhibiting since we arrived.”  She glanced apologetically over at Alenko.  “Sorry, but -”

Alenko shook his head.  “You call it as you see it, Commander.”

_“How bad off are they?”_ John asked.

“Williams is down for the count at the moment,” Jane told him.  “Alenko is  … managing.”  

_“And you?”_

Jane smiled even though he couldn’t see her.  “I’m too hard headed for that,” she reminded him.

His sigh was audible.   _“Jane -”_

“John, I’m fine.  I promise.  I’ve no idea why it isn’t affecting me, but I’m good.  The order still stands:  No casualties if they can be avoided,” Jane insisted.

_“Just how are we supposed to - wait a minute.”_

“John, what’s going on?”  

_“Sorry - one of the scientists here had an idea that just might work.  Stay put … we’re on our way.”_

“No casualties,” she repeated.  

Once the connection was broken, Jane turned towards Alenko.  “We’re to hold down the fort until reinforcements arrive,” she told him.  

Alenko sighed, but nodded.  “Let’s just hope the cavalry gets here in time to save the day.”

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Thanks to Scarletthalloran on tumblr for Wrex’s gardening response!

Grim determination and steely resolve fueled John as much as anything as he, Tali and Wrex fought their way back across the skyway to Zhu’s Hope.  Though personally he didn’t agree with Jane’s decision because it limited their battlefield tactics, she was the ranking officer on this mission and he would follow her orders as best he could.  To that end, during the drive back John handed responsibility for arming their grenades with the nerve gas Julia Baynham gave them over to Tali.  The quarian didn’t disappoint.  By the time they arrived back at the garage, she had them ready to go.  

Upon their arrival, they came upon something vaguely humanesque in form near the entrance to the garage.  For the life of him, John could only describe it as ‘zombie-like’ which, to his way of thinking, put the thing well beyond the threshold of saving.  Wrex, too, came to this conclusion and was the first to fell the creature as it attacked them.

“What _is_ that thing?” Tali asked as they walked up to it afterwards.  Cautiously, she used her toe to give it a nudge just to make sure it was dead.

“Nothing good, that’s for sure,” John told her.  

“It doesn’t look right,” Wrex announced, “therefore, it’s a target.”

John nodded, his agreement with krogan logic in that moment absolute.  “I think we can safely say these … things, whatever they are, are well beyond saving at this point.”  He glanced over at the others.  “Just remember - the human colonists are not to be harmed if at all possible.”  Both of his companions nodded before he turned to open the door.  While Tali and Wrex focused on the new wave of creepy human-like things, John fought past the two in his way and scrambled up top.  At this point, the colonists who were defending the area turned their weapons away from the zombie creatures and onto him.  Reaching for one of the jerry-rigged grenades, John threw it at them, remaining well back so he would not be affected by the radius of the gas blast.  As Dr. Baynham had promised, it worked like a charm.  All four colonists fell to the ground, unconscious.  Approaching them, John knelt beside one to check the vitals.

“Did it work?”

Tali’s voice behind him and the lumbering sound of Wrex’s steps shortly thereafter told him that their side of the battle was complete.  “Seems like it did,” he replied, rising back to his feet.  Nodding towards the elevator, he told them, “Let’s get moving.”

Of course their path wasn’t easy.  However, their supply of grenades was plentiful enough that, with careful usage they were able to take down the initial wave of colonists they encountered.  Things became a bit trickier as they moved into the compound proper.  On the far side, John could see the group that was battering around the housing unit given to Jane and the others.  Almost automatically, his hand slipped to the remaining grenades at his waist.  “Shit!” he muttered.  “We’re down to three.”  And between them and the far side, he could see numerous other colonists mixed in among creepers.  They weren’t going to have enough to finish the job!

“Not for long,” Wrex rumbled.  He moved forward, his gun aimed at several creepers blocking their path, and then waved Tali up behind him.  “Over there.”

“I see it!”  Tali practically leapt forward, retrieving the stash of grenades that Fai Dan apparently had kept for their use against the geth.  Quickly, efficiently, she doctored these armaments and handed half over to John.  “There aren’t many, Commander, but every one of them will help.”

“Exactly,” he agreed while pocketing them.  “Alright, let’s move.”

 

~ 0 ~

 

Though closed up inside her office, Liara could still hear the reverberations echoing throughout the hull of the ship caused by the continued pounding upon it by the colonists.  “By the goddess!” she muttered, shoulders shuddering at the thought of what could possibly be going on outside.  She and Garrus both had been up on the bridge with Joker when the exchange between both Commanders Shepard had gone through, and if there was anything Liara had come away with it was a further belief that whatever that segment of the Matriarch’s writing she had found earlier was tied into this mess somehow.  That was why she returned to her office - to see if she could make any final connections.  

But so far … no luck.  Plus, she found herself wondering if she shouldn’t have said something to them while she had the chance.  Maybe they could make sense of it?  But both the Commanders had been in the midst of battle and ….

The whoosh of the door opening had Liara turning to find Garrus entering the room.  Rising, she asked, “Did you need me for something?”

Garrus’ mandible flicked.  “Actually, I was just stopping by to see if you were alright.  You ran off so quickly, I wasn’t sure if something had happened?”

Liara sighed.  “When the Commander mentioned that Chief Williams and Lieutenant Alenko both were being affected and she was not, well … I thought I would look through the information I had again.  Just in case I missed something the first time.”

“Hmm.  And?”

Her shoulders shrugged as she dropped heavily back into her chair.  “That is the problem: I am pretty certain the answer is there, staring me in the face, but I do not see it!”  Her arm flung out, gesturing in the general direction of the colony.  “They are out there, depending upon me to understand this, to give them the answers they seek, and yet I cannot do such a simple thing as -”

Garrus crossed the distance between them, hand rising to rest on her shoulder.  “Hey, now,” he assured her, “you are doing the best you can.  No one will fault you for that.  Is there any way I can help?  Maybe give another viewpoint to it?”

She shook her head.  “It is written in an ancient asari dialect,” she explained.  “It is one even I have only come upon a few times in my studies and research.”

“Heh.”  Garrus lifted his hand to rub along his chin.  “An ancient dialect you said?”

“Yes.”  Glancing up at him, she countered, “Why do you ask?”

“Nothing … just, if it’s ancient, then you presumably don’t speak it much anymore, correct?”

“Yes.”

“So … it’s basically a foreign language, even to your people?”

“Yes.”  Liara frowned.  “What are you asking, Garrus?  That I do not know the languages of my own people?  I can assure you that I am quite well versed in -”

Garrus chuckled, hand rising to ward off further attack.  “No!  I’m not suggesting anything of the kind!” he promised.  “However, if your dialects are like ours - and by that I mean almost completely foreign since they are not used much anymore - would it be possible that you have … made an error in interpretation?”  He waved his hands again as she puffed up a bit with indignation at his suggestion.  “What I mean is, are there alternative ways in phrasing?  Using different words?  Perhaps a slightly different meaning?”   _Spirits,_ he thought, _I’m not cut out for this sort of negotiating thing.  Where is Shepard when she’s needed?_

It was on the tip of her tongue to lash out at his suggestion, but a particularly loud thunk against the hull of the ship caught her attention just then and was all the dent in her pride that she needed to think clearly once again.  “I … I suppose it is possible,” she replied.  Turning around, she started reading through the information again.  

Garrus, for his part, remained a step or two back from her.  His knowledge of asari behaviors wasn’t exactly limited, he supposed.  After all, he’d spent years at C-Sec with them as both co-workers and as suspects.  Over that time, he’d come to understand that they were as unique in personality as turians or salarians or humans.  What he _did_ know, however, was that no matter how young or old, they _could_ on occasion develop very sharp, retaliatory reactions to insensitive questioning (like he’d just managed) and quite often, the responses to such would involve biotics.  And Garrus was in no way wanting to have to deal with _that_ at the moment.  

“Hmm.”

Now _that_ caught Garrus’ attention.  “Hmm?”

“Well,” she mused, her fingers rising to trace the line of text in front of her, “I suppose this line - _He bent them to his will_ \- could be more along the lines of - _He turned their minds to his will_.”

Garrus blinked.  “Turned their minds?” he echoed.  “Like … mind control?”  He saw her nod, even as he continued on.  “Who is this ‘he’, anyway?”

Liara shook her head.  “He is only referred to as the “Old Growth” in the writings.  I am sorry, but I can think of no other way to interpret that other than what it is.”

“Okay … so we have … something old bending peoples’ minds.”  Garrus frowned.  “How old?” he asked.

“Well, the matriarch visited thousands of years ago,” Liara explained, “but she is referring to times in past - prothean times.”

“Prothean?  But that’s … over fifty thousand years ago?  Surely something can’t live _that_ long, can it?”

“I … I am not sure,” Liara admitted.  “I do not believe I have ever come across such a thing, no, but that does not mean ….”  She glanced up at Garrus.  “We should probably tell the Commander,” she murmured.

Garrus nodded.  “Can’t hurt.”

 

~ 0 ~

 

“How you doing over there, LT?” Jane asked, her back pressed against the door as Alenko worked his omni-tool over the makeshift lock yet again.  This was the third time they’d had to ‘fix’ it, and she wasn’t certain there would be a fourth.   _John, where the hell are you?_

The man was clearly in pain, grunting softly on occasion but invariably fighting through it as he worked the interface on his omni-tool.  “Almost … done,” he managed.  

A large jolt to the door had just enough force to cause Jane to lose her balance.  Slipping, she landed in a disgruntled heap upon the floor.  “Dammit!  What did they do, recruit the defensive linebacker for the Beijing Dragons?”

“There!”  Alenko moved beside her and dropped to sit for a moment, though he did manage a small laugh.  “Beijing Dragons, huh?”

Jane managed a sheepish grin.  “Yeah.  Giants lost my support when they didn’t win the last Super Bowl they were in.”

A groan across the room had them both glancing over towards Williams.  “Go take a look at her, please,” she asked.  She began to rise as he did, remaining beside the door while he scanned the Chief with his medical program.  

“Same as before,” he called over a minute later.  He reached inside his one of his hidden pockets and retrieved a syringe.  Jane lifted a brow in question and he replied, “One of those industrial strength painkillers.  Hopefully this will ease things for her a bit.”

“What about you?” Jane asked.  

“Took one earlier,” he informed her.  “It didn’t help much.”

Jane sighed.  They desperately needed to get back to the _Normandy_ so Dr. Chakwas could take over care, but with her being the only unaffected person, chances were unlikely they would make it at the moment.  

_“Commander?  Can you hear me?”_

The sudden incoming communication in Liara’s voice caught Jane off guard.  “Liara?  What’s going on?” she asked.  “Is everything alright on the _Normandy_?”

_“What?  Oh, yes.  Everything is … under control for the moment.  Commander, I think I have found something that could … maybe … help you.”_

_“Commander, the Normandy is fine.  The numbers of colonists trying to get inside is diminishing.  I think they might be headed back in your direction.”_ Garrus broke in before Jane could reply, _“Liara has found something - I think you should listen to what she has to say.”_

Jane glanced over at Alenko and signaled him to join into the call as she replied, “Alright … go ahead.”  As Liara began to outline her reasons for contacting Jane in the middle of a battle zone, Jane tried to process all that she was hearing.  

_“Until Garrus suggested I look at it from a different perspective, I did not see just how it might be relevant to your interests, but ….”_

Jane glanced over at Alenko.  “Well, there’s more than enough evidence here to suggest that _some_ thing is trying to control these people,” she agreed.  “The question, though, is what?”

“You are certain on the term you used?” the Lieutenant asked Liara.  

_“Old Growth?  Yes, Lieutenant.  The phrase used there is very specific in that dialect.  It was used precisely for that purpose, of that I have no doubt.”_

“So … what sort of ‘old growth’ is it?” Jane mused.  She frowned.  “That’s such an odd phrase, too.  Old, I get.  Growth, though?  Not so much.  Does it even mean the same thing in asari languages that it does in our own?”

“Something growing,” Alenko mused mostly to himself, “which would indicate it’s alive.  And if it is alive and it’s controlling minds, then it’s definitely sentient.”

“Agreed.   _‘Absorbed the information their minds once held.’_   Could that be where Saren got it from?” Jane wondered aloud.  “I mean, how else could he convince someone like an asari Matriarch to join him than by controlling someone’s mind or absorbing it into his own?”

_“My mother is one of the strongest asari I have ever known, Commander,”_ Liara added in a quiet but adamant tone.   _“She would not willingly do something like this.”_

The Commander and Lieutenant were silent for a long moment, but their eyes met and spoke silently to one another.  Jane recognized growing concern his, though whether that was directed at Liara’s state of mind or the nature of her association with Benezia and therefore Saren, Jane wasn’t certain.  In an attempt to calm the situation, Jane shook her head at him, asking him to let it go for the moment.  The Lieutenant finally nodded, acknowledging he would back off.  “Understood, Liara,” Jane replied.  

A sudden and very loud thunk hit the door that had both Jane and Alenko turning towards it, biotic auras flaring on their hands.  

_“Commander,”_ Liara called out in alarm, _“what was that?”_

“Garrus, I think you were right about those colonists,” Jane replied just before disengaging her commlink.  Another jolt came, this time shaking the door and the wall to which it was attached.  

“One more hit like that and it’s going to give,” Alenko warned as he moved beside her, crouched in a defensive position.

Jane lifted her pistol in her right hand and prepared a biotic attack with her left.  “If they break through, you protect Williams.  Got that, LT?  I’ll go on the offensive and keep as many away as I can.”

“Aye aye, Commander.”

The door broke off this time the instant the wall began shaking again and Jane moved forward, a biotic throw launching from her fingertips a second before Alenko’s followed.  Using surprise to their advantage, their combined move caught the most immediate attacking threat off guard as he tried to enter their lodgings - Jane didn’t recognize him, but he was pretty much the size of a football player! - and sent him sailing halfway across the compound.  Jane began moving forward, her biotics back at the ready, her pistol raised but not actively engaged.  She still would rather try to find a way to subdue these people that would ensure their survival, not outright kill them.  

A rumbling battle cry from her left had Jane looking outside to find Wrex barrelling his way across the open courtyard, fists flying and shotgun blazing at what Jane sincerely hoped was not a colonist.  Behind him, she spotted Tali and John.  

“Jane, get out of the way!”

Her husband’s warning had Jane backing up inside the room immediately and without question.  They knew one another well enough personally, fought beside one another professionally countless times during their careers; Jane had a great deal of respect for John’s battle skills.  If he said ‘get out of the way,’ it was time to move and she wasn’t about to hesitate.  

Though uncertain of the exact nature of the danger, she rushed across the room to Alenko and Williams, dropping into a crouch beside them and taking cover just as she heard the telltale sound of a grenade exploding nearby, though it wasn’t close enough to injure them.  As the explosion faded, Jane turned and rose to her feet just as one last shotgun report echoed outside.  Rushing over, she found the colonists who were attempting to attack her, Williams and Alenko now lying on the ground, unconscious.  “John?”

“Over here.”

Exiting, Jane spotted him just below the walkway that ran in front of her doorway.  Hurrying down and around, she found him kneeling beside Tali.  “You okay?” she asked as she knelt beside the quarian.  

“It’s nothing,” Tali assured her.  “A small tear in the suit.  All patched up now.”  Her voice sounded cheerful enough.  “Did we get them all?”

Jane glanced over at her husband.  “‘Get them’?”  Her eyes fell to the colonists again.

“Nerve gas -”

“What?!”

John shook his head.  “It’s been modified,” he assured her.  “Non-weapons grade.  We were with some of the surviving ExoGeni scientists when you gave the order to do this without killing.  They gave it to us.”

“We managed to save them all,” Tali piped up.  “They’ll just sleep it off for a while.”

Relief surging through her, Jane’s shoulders sagged briefly.  “Good.  Now, we just have to find this thing and deal with it.”

Rising to her feet, Jane offered a hand to Tali and helped her up.  

“We’ve got a good lead on that,” John announced as he followed.  

“Oh?”

He nodded.  “Yeah. It’s a -”

A sharp noise behind them had all three turning, weapons raised.  “Lieutenant!”  Jane hurried back up to the doorway, catching Alenko beneath his shoulder as he stumbled out onto the walkway.  “Are you alright?”

John and Tali both followed, Wrex lumbering over soon after.  “Just … it’s worse,” Alenko muttered, one hand grasping harshly at his temple.  “The pain …”

“It’s the Thorian,” John told them as he moved beneath the Lieutenant’s other arm.  He and Jane both turned Alenko and led him back indoors to lie down on one of the other cots.  

“Thorian?” Jane echoed.

“Species 37,” Tali announced.  “An ancient plant that is sentient and -”

Jane gasped, eyes darting over to meet John’s as she helped lay Alenko onto the bed.  The Lieutenant groaned, but dropped willingly onto the fixture.  “And is adept at mind control, perhaps?”  

John’s eyes widened in shock.  “You knew?”

She shook her head.  “No, not really.  At least,” she explained, hand rising to signal her comm, “not until recently.  Liara, are you there?”

_“I am here, Commander,”_ the asari’s voice returned a moment later.   _“All is well at your end, I hope?”_

“As well as can be expected, I guess.  I’ve got more information on that Old Growth for you.  It’s called a Thorian.  Does that ring any bells?”

_“Just a moment and let me look.”_

John linked himself into the conversation.  “ExoGeni has been using it, but it was on Feros before they arrived.  They’ve been researching its effects on the colonists here at Zhu’s Hope.  They also call it Species 37.”

_“Understood.”_

“Question is,” Jane continued while Liara looked, “where is it?”

“Under the colony.”  

Jane stared up at her husband in bewilderment.  “ _Under_ the colony?”

“Under the wreckage of that cargo ship, Commander,” Tali interjected.  “It’s blocking some sort of entrance.”

Without waiting on Liara, Jane ordered, “There’s a control panel out in front of the wreckage.  I was talking to the only survivor of its crew earlier, but she wouldn’t let me near the controls.”

“Now you know why,” John pointed out.

“Yeah.  Tali, see if you can’t get them working and figure out how to gain access.”

Tali nodded.  “Got it, Commander.”

“More tunnels?” John asked as the quarian left.  Wrex stood near the doorway, eyes outwards looking for threats.  

“Gotta be,” Jane agreed.  Sighing, she knelt down beside Alenko who was clearly still in pain, occasionally thrashing around as he moved.  “Lieutenant, is there anything we can do to help?”

“No ….”

Grimacing, Jane rose again and led her husband a few steps away.  

“What are you thinking?”

She looked up at him.  “We need to go deal with that … thing,” she muttered.  “I’m sick and tired of it harming my people!”

John grunted softly in agreement.  “What if we pulled a group off the _Normandy_?” he asked.  “I could have Garrus bring a squad of marines -”

“No, I want them there, protecting the ship,” Jane insisted.  God, she was tired.  When did she get so tired?  Hands rising, she scrubbed them across her face in an attempt to wake herself up.  Finally, she continued, “Someone needs to stay here with Williams and Alenko to make sure they stay safe if those colonists wake up early.  The rest of us will go deal with this _thing_.”  

John’s face scowled in concern as he watched her actions.  He’d seen her this way before.  Pushing herself too hard.  But she knew her limits.  Had pulled off some amazing feats in the past even under such conditions.  Hadn’t Elysium proved that?  Sighing, he asked, “Who?”

_“Commander, I have no additional information,”_ Liara’s voice broke in.   _“What the others have provided is more information than I could gather from the Matriarch’s writings.  I had Joker link me into the extranet, but I cannot find any information about ExoGeni or their research here, either.”_

“Not surprising,” John told them.  “The project was so secret half the scientists over there had no clue about it, and from what I understood, the colonists didn’t know they were being used as ‘subjects’ in this research.”

“Great.”  Jane rolled her shoulder, stretching the muscles that were, technically, still healing there.  “Alright.  Thank you, Liara.  We’ll take it from here.”

_“Understood, Commander.”_

Disconnecting the call, Jane turned and headed out the door.  She found Tali at the control panel, hands flying over the interface, and as she rounded the corner to approach, there was a sudden screeching noise followed by a thundering tremor.  Moments later, the wreckage of the cargo ship was lifted exposing a descending stairwell beneath.  “Good.  Tali, I want you to stay here with -”

The sudden shuffling of footsteps, the unexpectedness translating into immediate response, had both the quarian and Jane turning to meet it while drawing weapons as they moved.  

“I tried to fight it,” Fai Dan told them as he shuffled forward, pistol in hand, “but it gets inside your head.  You can’t imagine the pain.”

Jane waved Tali off to the side to join John and Wrex who came rushing over at the sounds.  Pistol pointed at the colonist, Jane moved so that she was his only target.

“I was supposed to be their leader,” Fai Dan continued.  “These people trusted me.”  

He winced in pain and Jane then noticed out of the corner of her eye that his hand trembling.  A further glance startled her.  He didn’t appear to be trembling from his actions, but rather, from fighting off something that he was being forced to do.   Her pistol still raised, she told him, “You don’t have to do this, Fai Dan.”

“It … It wants me to stop you,” he groaned.  “It wants me to … but … I won’t.”  The battle of wills became more difficult, and for the longest moment, Jane thought the man was losing as his arm rose.  “I won’t!”  This last cry of protest was accompanied by a jerk of the man’s hand as the pistol suddenly swerved, the muzzle coming to rest at his temple just before flashing with the shot.

Jane lowered her weapon as she watched Fai Dan’s now lifeless body collapse to the ground.  “Dammit!” she hissed, jabbing her pistol back into place.  

A hand at her shoulder pulled her attention upwards. “You did everything you could,” John told her quietly.  “You saved all of the others.”

“That was you, not me.”  Sighing, she ran a hand across her forehead.  “Dammit, they depended on me to help them!”

“Sounds like you pissed that thing off,” Wrex observed as he came over to examine Fain Dan’s body, nudging it with his foot.  “It let you into the colony to help fight the geth, but now you’re a liability.”

Jane gave the krogan a wry grin.  “Story of my life,” she muttered.  Taking a deep breath, she straightened.  “Right then.  Tali?”

“Here, Commander.”

Jane glanced at the quarian.  “Stay with Alenko and Williams.  If this thing is really as angry with me as Wrex suggests, there’s no telling what it might try to do to them.  Keep them safe.”

“Got it, Commander,” Tali replied quickly before turning to scurry back over to the hut.

Looking between John and Wrex, Jane announced as she started towards the stairs, “Well, boys, guess that leaves you and me to go clean house.  Ever do any gardening, Wrex?”

"If you count planting faces into walls, sure," he rumbled.**

Jane bit back a laugh, but John did not appear to feel so inclined, his chuckles echoing around them as they descended into the stairwell and the tunnels below.  As before, there was quite a bit of rubble and destruction, though this looked to be more due to the passage of time than the geth.

The staircases finally turned down a hall to their left.  As she began forward, John murmured, “Okay, by the numbers.  We just need to find … to find ….”  His words trailed off as the threesome came to a halt, the view before them opening to a hollowed out passage in which resided ….

Jane frowned, her weapon lowering as she peered up at it in stunned amazement.  “That’s like no plant I’ve ever seen before,” she muttered.

John snorted.  “Nothing’s ever simple for us, is it?”

Jane flashed a quick smirk over her shoulder at him as he moved further out to her right to examine the area.  Wrex moved to the left.  “Things haven’t been simple since the day we met,” she quipped before turning back to face the Thorian.  Stepping forward, she could see the thing had it’s … tendrils?  Roots?  Whatever, they were twined around the support beams and walls of the structure they were in.  It began moving then, in addition to the clear ooze dripping from what looked to be its maw, and Jane retreated a step or two out of instinct.  She also heard both Wrex and John arm their weapons.  The plant, at least two or three stories tall if she had to guess, began making a groaning, huffing sort of sound before that turned into a squelching noise as a figure dropped out of it’s mouth.  As the figure rose, Jane recognized it as an asari, skin a pale green with darker green tattooed markings around the eyes and along the sides of its head.  

The asari - a commando if her clothing was any indication - began speaking in a somewhat stilted voice, but the fact that it used “Old Growth” to describe the Thorian told Jane enough.  It was clear to her that the asari was working with the Thorian.  

“I speak for the Old Growth, as I did Saren.  You are within and before the Thorian.  It commands you be in awe!” she pronounced in an emphatic tone.

Considering her words carefully, Jane remained calm, her pistol back at her side.  “You gave something to Saren,” she said.  “Something I need.”

“Saren sought knowledge of those who are gone,” the asari responded.  “The Old Growth listened to flesh for the first time in the Long Cycle.  Trades were made.  Then cold ones began killing the ones that would tend the next cycle.  Flesh fairly given!  The Old Growth sees the air you push as lies!  It will listen no more!”

Jane barely hesitated.  “I won’t let you keep your thralls,” she insisted.  “Release them.  Now!”

“No more will the Thorian listen to those that scurry.  Your lives are short, but have gone on too long.”  The asari reached for her pistol, pulling it out and beginning to shoot as she finished, “Your blood will feed the ground and the new growth!”

But Jane was prepared.  Though she didn’t have her pistol in hand as the asari took shots at her, she managed to pull enough dark energy to launch a biotic throw at the asari.  With a great heaving grunt, she put enough power behind the move to cause the asari to fly backwards and off the platform, falling far below.  

It was at that point Jane noticed the sounds of Wrex and John’s weapons going off around her.  Taking her pistol in hand, she turned and followed after them, down the path they cleared of thralls.

They made their way through a tunnel, John taking point.  “Look there!” he shouted back at Jane, his arm pointing to their right.  

She glanced up, spotting the tendril where it was latched onto the wall beyond.  “Got it,” she called back.  “Keep them off me.”

Both John and Wrex grunted agreement, moving forward as Jane aimed her pistol.  It took more shots than she liked - why spend three rounds on an enemy when one will do, right? - but it became obvious the moment she made sufficient progress.  The walls and ground around them began trembling and the Thorian itself began screeching, a horrifying sound to listen to.  “Come on,” she told them after the shaking stopped.  “There must be more around here somewhere.”

They spent the next while following the path around and upwards, taking on the Thorian thralls, additional cloned versions of the same asari, and the Thorian’s tendrils as they came upon them.  With the release of the last one, the Thorian gave one final, loud roar before it fell deep down the center of the structure.  Jane moved over to the edge to glance over with John.  It never hurt to double check, after all.  

“Commander?”

The hesitation in Wrex’s tone had Jane’s hand falling to her pistol once more as she turned, but when she spotted what had caught the krogan’s attention, she lowered her hand.  This time, the asari coming out of the residual nodes or pods or whatever they were that the Thorian had put them in, was different.  The same markings, the same clothing, but with violet skin and darker purple markings.  Jane didn’t know much about asari, but she did know that their colorings were different from one another.  Every single clone that they had fought against had been that same shade of green, but this one was different ….

“I’m … I’m free!” the asari exclaimed in wonder as she rose to her feet.  She turned to face Jane next.  “I … I suppose I should thank you for releasing me.”

“Is everything alright?” Jane asked with some concern.  “Are you okay?”

The asari’s reaction was immediate.  “I am fine.  Or … I will be, in time.  My name is Shiala.  I serve -- I served Matriarch Benezia.  When she allied herself with Saren, I did the same.”  Jane darted a quick look over at John, but his only response was to shrug slightly.  “Benezia foresaw the influence Saren would have,” Shiala continued quickly.  “She joined him to guide him down a gentler path.  But Saren is compelling.  Benezia lost her way.”

Jane straightened.  “Are you saying Saren can control minds?” she asked.

“Benezia underestimated Saren.  As did I.  We came to believe in his cause and his goals.  The strength of his influence is troubling.”

Wrex made a disgruntled snorting sound.  “She tried to manipulate Saren and failed,” he translated.

“Asari matriarchs are among the most intelligent and powerful beings in the galaxy,” John broke in.  “How is it one could fall under Saren’s control?”

Shiala nodded to concede his point.  “Saren has a vessel,” she explained.  “An enormous warship unlike anything I have ever seen before.  He calls it Sovereign.  It can dominate the minds of his followers.  They become indoctrinated to Saren’s will.  The process is subtle.  It can take days, weeks.  But in the end, it is absolute.  I was a willing slave when Saren brought me to this world.  He needed my biotics to communicate with the Thorian, to learn its secrets.  Saren offered me in trade.  I was sacrificed to secure an alliance between Saren and the Thorian.”

“Saren’s pretty quick to betray his own people,” Jane observed.

Shiala nodded.  “He was quick to betray the Thorian, too.  After he had what he wanted, he ordered the geth to destroy all evidence of its existence.  Saren knows you are searching for the Conduit.  He knows you are following his steps.  He attacked the Thorian so you could not gain the Cipher.”

“The Cipher?” John echoed.

Jane frowned.  “What’s the Cipher?  And why did Saren need it?”

“The beacon on Eden Prime gave you visions.  But the visions are unclear, confusing.  They were meant for a prothean mind,” she replied.  “To truly comprehend them, you must think like a prothean.  You must understand their culture, their history, their very existence.  The Thorian was here long before the protheans built this city.  It watched and studied them.  When they died, it consumed them.  They became a part of it.”

Jane felt understanding beginning to break through as Liara’s earlier words came back to her; the part of the matriarch’s writings she had read.  “So … the Thorian taught Saren how to think like a prothean?” she asked.  “How?”

“The Cipher is the very essence of being a prothean.  It cannot be described or explained.  It would be like describing color to a creature without eyes.  To understand, you must have access to endemic ancestral memory.  A viewpoint spanning thousands of prothean generations.  I sensed this ancestral memory -- the Cipher -- when I melded with the Thorian.  Our identities merged, our minds intertwined.  Such knowledge cannot be taught; it simply exists.”

“But there has to be some way!” John insisted, his eyes darting between Shiala and his wife.  “We need that knowledge to stop Saren!”

“There is a way,” Shiala began.

But Jane interrupted.  “You want to meld our minds together, don’t you?” she asked.

“Do what?” John exclaimed.  “What are you talking about?”

“No,” Shiala insisted, stepping towards him, “she is right.  I can transfer the information from my mind to hers,” she gestured towards Jane, “as I did with Saren.”

John reached out and grasped Jane by the arm.  “You can’t be serious!” he hissed.  “You have no idea what might -”

Jane lifted her hand to cover his briefly before she took a step back from him.  “I do, John,” she told him.  “Liara was suggesting something similar just before we landed.  She thinks that if she can see what I saw from the beacon, she might be able to recognize something … some place.”  Turning towards Shiala, Jane nodded.  “If this Cipher can clear up those images, I’ll do it.”

“But -!”

Jane gave her husband one final, hard look.  “I survived the beacon, didn’t I?”

“Barely,” he muttered as she turned back to face Shiala.   _Dammit, she’s doing it again!_ he thought.  As she had done on Elysium, she was taking matters into her own hands and heading off to fight some battle.  Only this time, instead of leaving him behind due to injury, he was unable to be a part of the battle because it was taking place inside of her head.  Either way, he didn’t care for being left out.

After only a few minutes, John saw Shiala pull back a step or two.  Eyes that had gone black with the process, now returned to their natural green.  Other than moving slowly, she seemed to be alright.  Jane, too, was moving slowly, but John was hesitant to reach out and disturb her just yet.  She had insisted on doing this, and he would respect that decision, but it was difficult to actually have to watch her go through this, unlike Elysium.  

“I have given you the ancestral memories of the protheans just as it was given to Saren,” Shiala announced.  “They are now a part of you.”

If the asari was speaking, John figured it was okay for him to as well.  “Are you alright?  Jane?”

“I saw … something.  I’m not sure what,” she replied.  A hand lifted and rubbed against her temple.  “It still doesn’t make any sense.”

“You have been given the memories of an entire people,” Shiala reminded her.  “It will take time for your mind to process this information.”

“We should get you back to the ship and under Dr. Chakwas’ care,” John told her.  

But Jane waved him off, turning back to Shiala to speak further.  Sighing in frustration, John turned away and began retracing their steps for a short distance.  They needed to get going.  Aside from what Jane had just experienced, there were Williams and Alenko to check on, as well as Tali, and then the colonists.  He also wanted to get a good look at any damage that might have occurred to the ship during the colonists’ attack.  But mostly, he was pretty much done with ExoGeni, the Thorian and he just wanted to get them away from this planet intact.

Some minutes later, he heard steps and turned to find Jane and Shiala walking towards him, Wrex following behind, shotgun at the ready.  That was reassuring at least.  Maybe once they hit the Citadel again, he’d buy the krogan a drink as a thank you.  “Ready?”

Jane nodded slowly.  “Shiala is going to stay and help the colonists rebuild,” she explained.  “With the Thorian dead, she believes that the colonists should now be released from its control.”

Returning to the surface didn’t seem to take nearly as long as their descent had taken.  But when they arrived up top once again, John noticed several things.  First and foremost, he found that the colonists of Zhu’s Hope appeared to be coming out of their nerve gas induced sleep.  The next thing he saw was that the ExoGeni scientists he, Tali and Wrex aided were now present, many of whom were assisting the colonists.  

“Commander?”

Turning, he found Alenko stepping towards him, looking a bit better than before but still not one hundred percent.  “Better, LT?” he asked.

Alenko nodded carefully.  “Yes, sir.  Good enough, anyway,” he clarified.  “Williams is still rather wobbly, but I think she’ll be okay.  She should still have Dr. Chakwas look her over, though.”

John nodded absently while looking around the area.  “We need to get back to the ship,” he informed the Lieutenant.  “Why don’t you, Williams and Tali head back.  Wrex, Jane and I will follow shortly.”

“Aye aye, Commander,” Alenko replied.

John turned back to find Jane speaking with Shiala, Juliana Baynham and Lizbeth Baynham.  Catching Wrex’s eyes, he nodded towards the docking area.  With a lumbering gait, the krogan turned and began heading in that direction.

Jane broke away and turned to face John as he faced her again.  “We good to go?” she asked, eyes scanning the area.

He nodded.  “Whenever you are,” he replied.  “Everyone else is on their way back to the ship.”

They departed the colony with one last farewell, walking back to the docking bay side by side.  As they descended the stairs and turned out into the docking area, John commented, “So.”

Jane glanced up at him.  “So?”

“This mind melding thing,” he clarified.

“Ah.”  Jane remained silent for a moment, gathering her thoughts.  “Shiala was right.  It is difficult to put into words.”

“Do you think it helped, though?” he asked carefully.

Smiling over at him, Jane replied, “You do really need to stop being such a worrywart where I’m concerned.”

John tried to give her an innocent look, but could see that she saw right through it.  “I don’t have the -”

“John.”  Jane stopped walking and he followed suit even though the entrance to the airlock was just ahead of them.  “You know I am capable of doing my job.”

John sighed.  It always ended up back here.  “Yes, I do.”

“Then let me do it.  I take full responsibility for my calls on the battlefield,” she added.  “And, you know I don’t take that responsibility lightly.  I would never knowingly put any of my team, or myself, into a position of indefensible danger.”

John fidgeted.  “I know that, too, but -”

Jane leaned up on her toes to kiss him; just a light brushing of her lips against his to offer reassurance.  “I love you too, Commander,” she murmured, then she turned away and headed into the airlock.  

Standing alone out on the docks, John could hear the thrumming of equipment as Jane initiated decontamination procedures.  She was right.  Of course, she was right.  And he knew it, but that didn’t make it any easier to deal with.  Watching her in the heat of battle was a double edged sword.  On the one side, he could appreciate her leadership and command capabilities, her skill in the face of countless enemies; on the other hand, he was terrified that he might lose her - every soldier knew skill and luck were two sides to the same coin on the battlefield - as he almost had back on Elysium.  It was something they had discussed at length, even argued about upon occasion, but ultimately nothing ever seemed to assuage his fears.  Sighing, and because John knew in the long run he didn’t want her any other way than she was, he followed her onto the ship.

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

The moment John cleared the decontamination protocols, he was on the bridge.  “Joker, get us the hell out of here,” he ordered from the entryway before turning towards the CIC.

“Any specific destination?” the helmsman called back over his shoulder.

“Just get us out of here for now.  I’ll have a destination by the time we near the relay if not before.”

He made his way towards the hub of the CIC, pausing briefly to speak with Pressly.  There he received an update on events as they’d occurred aboard ship during the team’s absence.  One discussion led to another and after a moment, Pressly handed over a datapad with orders from Alliance Command.  John scanned the information and after further consultation with the navigator, a plan of action was decided.  By the time John stepped up to the Galaxy Map, Joker’s voice came over the comm to announce, “Leaving Theseus System, Commander.”  

John pressed a few buttons on the controls so the helmsman would hear his reply.  “We’re going to peruse the Hercules System before we leave the Attican Beta.”

“Roger that,” Joker replied.  “Fly casual.  Got it.”

John shook his head and bit back a grin as he descended the platform.  Joker’s irreverent sense of humor was not for everyone, he knew, but the Commander couldn’t say he minded.  After the stress of the mission on Feros, it was a welcome change of pace.  If the look on Pressly’s face meant anything, however, the navigator didn’t appear to be as amused with the pilot’s comments.  

John stepped down from the Galaxy Map and started walking towards the stairs leading below deck.  He needed hot food, a shower and a change into something more comfortable (which meant BDUs, of course) in that order.  But as he saluted the marine stationed nearby on duty, he heard heavy steps approaching from his right.  Glancing over, he found Jane nearing him and from the dark look upon her face, she had just exited the comm room.  That could  mean only one thing.  

“Trouble with the Council?” he asked, gesturing for her to precede him down the stairs.

The glower on Jane’s face deepened.  “You could say that,” she bit out.  “I was just reprimanded.”

Startled, John stopped about halfway down the stairs.  “What?”

Jane descended a few more before turning back to face him.  “You heard me.  After agreeing that ExoGeni should have notified the Council about the Thorian in the first place, I was reprimanded for not capturing it and bringing it in.”  She rolled her head in an attempt to stretch out the muscles of her neck.  “Never mind that the thing wouldn’t have fit into the ship’s shuttle bay.”

Rolling his eyes, John closed the distance between them.  Resting his hands on her shoulders, he waited for her to look up at him.  She did after a moment, peeking through loose strands of hair that had flopped into her eyes.  “You made the right call,” he insisted.  “That thing was a danger to anyone who was near it.  If we’d brought it in, we’d all likely be its thralls by the time we arrived at the Citadel.”

Jane snorted, eyes dropping to glance at her feet for a moment, but when she looked up at him again, he saw a bit more of the fire returning.  “That’s more or less what I told them.  Tevos agreed with me at least.”  She sighed then.  “Until Sparatus got all huffy.   _‘Of course Shepard would go to any lengths to save a human colony._ ’ As if I had little or no care about any other colonies or species out there!”  Another sigh and her eyes met his.  “Sometimes I wonder who we are actually fighting against,” she muttered.

John pulled her close for a moment, wrapping his arms around her.  “You and I know ever since the First Contact war there’s still bad blood between turians and humans out there,” he murmured softly.  “One of these days it will end, but there’s nothing we can do about it now.  We know the truth.  Besides, this thing with Saren doesn’t help.”  He reached up to tuck some of the loose strands of hair back behind her ear.  “Could just be Sparatus is trying to cover his own embarrassment over the situation.  If you recall, he _was_ rather adamant that Saren was innocent.”

Jane nodded.  “That thought had occurred to me,” she agreed.  “Doesn’t make it any easier, though.”

Giving her one last squeeze, John released her and began leading the way down to the galley.  “Come on.  Hot food, good company -”

“Don’t push it, John.”

John smirked over at her.  “There she is,” he teased as he dragged her into the kitchen area.  “If that sassy mouth is back, I know my girl is in there somewhere.”

Jane frowned at him, taking a swing at his arm, but John was quick enough to evade the contact.  This was a test - nothing more, nothing less - to her current state of mind and something they’d gotten into the habit of doing long ago.  There were times, especially after difficult or severely challenging missions when it was difficult to leave the mission behind.  It had, upon occasion, even led to disagreement or argument between them.  After one particularly bad fight right before their marriage, they’d both agreed to establish a sort of ‘decompression protocol’ between them when they were together after missions in order to make certain the other had completely let go.  

“Sadly, this ‘sassy mouth,’ as you so eloquently put it, needs a shower first,” she told him and began to turn away.  “I’ll eat later.”

John reached over and grasped her wrist.  “Nope.  Food first.  You’d be surprised how much better you’ll feel after.  Then shower.  Then sleep.”

Reluctantly, Jane agreed and moved over to open the refrigerator, searching the contents of the leftovers inside.  John accepted two of the containers she retrieved before she grabbed another two and within minutes, they were at the counter fixing plates ….  

 

~ 0 ~

 

John was right - food did wonders to help improve her mood and make her feel better.  The hot shower that followed did the same.  But when it came to taking the time to rest, Jane begged off for just a little while longer.  She needed to do some other things first, not the least was check in with the rest of the crew.  Only after promising John that she would indeed take the time to sleep later or face the wrath of Dr. Chakwas (she couldn’t argue that it wasn’t a logical request, and John always knew how to get her to agree to things like this post mission - it usually involved the threat of a doctor if she didn’t cooperate) did her husband finally back off.  Taking the opportunity, Jane ducked out of their cabin and headed towards the med bay.  

The lights inside were dimmed, and on the back two beds, Jane could see whom she suspected were Alenko and Williams resting.  “Hey, Doc,” she murmured, quietly approaching the doctor at her desk.  “How are they?”

Out of habit, the doctor glanced over at her patients before up at the Commander.  “They are doing much better now,” she replied, rising to her feet and gesturing Jane towards the front of the room.  “Chief Williams appeared to catch the brunt of whatever that was -”

“A gigantic, mind-controlling plant bent on the destruction of me and my team?” Jane offered as offhandedly as possible.  

The look the doctor gave her in return was stern, but Jane saw the corner of her lips twitching.  “Yes, well, I suppose it was that.”

Jane folded her arms across her chest, hip cocking slightly to the side as she glanced over at the two soldiers.  “What I’m more curious about is why Alenko didn’t appear to be as affected as Williams.”

“Or you?”

The doctor’s counter question brought Jane’s eyes back around to meet hers.  “That too,” she agreed.

“What I can tell you, Commander, is not what I know for a fact, but what I believe based on my knowledge of the people involved and the situation as it occurred.  I believe that Lieutenant Alenko’s constant battle against debilitating migraines caused by his L2 implant has made him tolerant of extreme levels of pain such that he can fight off much of what might force a normal person out of a similar situation.”

Jane considered that.  “Makes sense, I suppose,” she acknowledged.  “He was hurting, I could see that, but he found a way to fight through it.  At least up until the end.”

“Which I suspect is what he does when he has to endure said migraines while out on a mission,” the doctor added.  

“Hmm.”  Turning her attention fully upon the doctor now, Jane asked, “So what does that have to do with me?”

Chakwas sighed and shrugged her shoulders.  “I honestly have no conclusions to draw there,” she admitted.  The soft sound of a door opening in the back of the room could be heard, but both women ignored it for now.  “You do not have the same medical or biotic background as the Lieutenant, and yet …. hmmm.  I wonder if it might have something to do with the training you received while in N-School?”

Jane paused to consider that.  “Well, we did -”

“Excuse me, Doctor Chakwas,” Liara’s soft voice interrupted, “I believe I might know why the Commander was unaffected by the Thorian spores.”

Jane and the doctor turned to face the asari who joined them.  “You do?” Jane asked.  

Liara nodded.  “I think it had to do with the visions you received from the prothean beacon.”

Jane glanced over at Chakwas, eyes large and rounded, but the doctor only shrugged her shoulders again.  “I am by no means an expert when it comes to that sort of thing.  If you remember, there was little I could do for you at that time except allow you to rest and recover on your own.  I would be curious to hear more about her reasoning behind this.”

Jane looked over at Liara.  “What evidence do you have to support this theory?”

Liara nodded towards the back of the room.  “I would be glad to show you, Commander.  You too, doctor, if you wish.  But the answer lies in what you experienced while on Feros, Commander, and in the ancient Matriarch writings I have been examining.”

Chakwas smiled.  “I think I will tend to my patients,” she explained with a wink.  “Ancient asari Matriarchal writings are a bit out of my professional expertise.”

Chuckling, Jane nodded and turned to follow Liara.  “Alright, why don’t you show me.”

Upon entry into the small office, Liara directed Jane to take a seat at the computer console nearby.  As she settled, Jane looked at the screen, noting it was split down the middle.  One side contained information in a language she did not recognize.  The other side was in English.  “What’s this?”

Liara leaned across Jane’s shoulder, pointing to both sides as necessary.  “This is the information you obtained and requested I look at - the writings of Matriarch Dilinaga.  Over here,” her hand shifted to the opposite side of the screen, “is the translation I was working on.”

Jane took a moment to read through the information.  Nodding in recognition of the information Liara had passed along to her while on Feros, she sat back a moment later to consider it.  “And you think that the Thorian couldn’t control my mind because of the visions I saw from the prothean beacon?”

Liara nodded and took the chair beside the Commander.  “Or would not.  From what I understand, I think the Thorian might have recognized in you information it already possessed and therefore did not wish to repeat.  At least in the beginning.  At what point it recognized that you were an actual threat to it, I do not know.  Nor do I think it realized how you came about the information it viewed as repetitive.”

Jane sat back in her chair and considered this explanation.  “At this point, that makes as much sense as anything, I suppose,” she mused.  Shaking her head in bemusement, she turned to face Liara.  “I’m glad you found this.  The information you provided was very helpful when facing the Thorian.”

Jane watched as Liara’s eyes widened, startled.  In return, she offered a gentle smile.  “You were still having doubt about what you could provide to the mission, weren’t you?” she asked.

“I was, yes,” Liara replied.  “But if this helped you with the Thorian, then I am glad I could be of some assistance.”  

“You were.”  Jane rose to her feet, moving only so she could sit on the edge of the desk rather than the chair.  “You know, there was an asari with the Thorian when we found its lair,” she continued.  “An asari who claimed to be one of your mother’s disciples.”

Sighing, Liara rose and began pacing around the room.  Hands tangling together, she appeared to be nervous.  “I have no doubt that many of my mother’s followers chose to go with her when she joined Saren,” she finally murmured.  “My mother has a very compelling personality.  She has always drawn in many followers.”

Jane offered a reassuring smile.  “I have no doubt of that.  This one was a commando.  Shiala was her name. She said that she was given in trade to the Thorian so that Saren could communicate with it.”

Liara nodded.  “Many of my mothers followers would be asari commandos.  Shiala …  I believe I recognize the name.”  A hand lifted to rub at her temple.  “Shiala is quite a talented commando, as I recall.  I am not surprised she would be willing to offer herself as a way to bridge the communications gap between them.”

Jane wrapped her arms around her legs and pulled her knees up to rest her chin upon them for a moment.  “The Thorian turned her into one of its thralls and she was quite a formidable opponent.  However, something interesting happened after the battle.”

Liara’s eyes met hers again.  “Oh?”

Jane nodded.  Releasing her arms, she stood up and faced Liara.  “Once the Thorian died, Shiala was freed of her enthrallment.  When we spoke to her, she explained how she had come to be there … and offered something that could suggest why your mother is willingly following Saren.”

Jane saw Liara pale and reached out to guide her to a nearby chair.  “Shiala says that the ship that Saren uses - _Sovereign_ \- does things to the way people think.  It whispers, I believe was the word she used.  Gets inside your head.  Compels you to act as it wants.”

“Mind control?” Liara whispered.  

“Maybe,” Jane agreed.  “Shiala told us that your mother decided to join Saren because she wanted to lead him away from the dangerous path he had chosen, lead him down a ‘gentler path’ … but that she and everyone else who came along came under the influence of the ship ended up obedient to its commands.  She called this process ‘indoctrination,’  described the followers as ‘willing slaves’ to Saren’s bidding.”

Liara groaned, hands now moving to cover her face.  Jane rested a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently in a gesture of comfort.  “So you are suggesting that my mother ….”

Jane shook her head.  “I cannot make a judgment based solely on one person’s account,” she admitted.  “That is a judgment that will have to be determined if and when we ever meet up with your mother, face to face.”

Liara sighed.  “I … I suppose you are correct,” she finally agreed.  A moment later, she continued,  “Commander, if you do not mind me asking …?”

Jane took a seat across from her.  “Go ahead.”

“The purpose for Shiala being used to communicate between Saren and the Thorian.  Did she give you a reason?”

Jane nodded.  “It’s a bit more complicated than that from what I understand, but yes.  The Thorian had information that Saren believed would lead him to the Conduit.  Or, I suppose, information that would make it easier for Saren to understand the visions given to him on Eden Prime which would lead him to the Conduit,” she explained.

Liara’s eyes widened as understanding came.  “Of course!  Matriarch Dilinaga said that the Thorian was thought to have absorbed the memories of the people it had come across ….”

“I am presuming Shiala went about it by using that mind melding thing you were telling me about before we landed on Feros?” Jane asked.

Liara nodded.  “Yes.  There are many different uses for such a technique, some of them more … personal than others, but it is essentially the same thing - a way to communicate, to directly share thoughts with others in a quick, efficient manner.”

“Hmm.”  Jane straightened in her chair.  “The I guess it is the same technique that Shiala used to give me the Cipher.”

“To give you … the Cipher?”

Jane sighed.  “The information that the Thorian had is called the Cipher.  The only way Shiala was able to share it with me was to connect our minds to transfer it.  This was, she told me, the same way that Saren received the information.”

Liara nodded, eyes finding and holding Jane’s for a moment.  “Yes, that makes sense,” she agreed.  “Do your visions make more sense to you now?”

Jane shook her head.  “I haven’t noticed any difference yet,” she admitted.  “Still the same mess and mash of images as before.  Shiala told me it might take some time.”

“She is correct in that,” Liara agreed, “and you have yet to rest since the mission ended which also would give you time to process it all.”  She paused for a moment, eyes dropping away from Jane’s.  

Concerned, Jane leaned towards her when she halted beside the desk Jane was seated upon.  “Liara, is everything alright?”

“There - there is something else,” Liara began again, more hesitantly than before.

Jane nodded.  “Alright.  What is it?”

“Commander, please do not think me …  I mean, I know you … I mean, I … I mean ….”

Jane chuckled softly.  “Relax, Liara,” she told her.  

Liara sighed.  “I am sorry, Commander.  I know that my enthusiasm can come across as … troubling to many of your species and I do not want you to think -”

Jane considered the situation.  Of the asari’s sudden awkwardness.  Of the topic at hand.  Of how it had all begun.  Smiling, she reached a hand out to touch Liara’s arm.  Liara jumped, startled by the contact, but Jane gave her a reassuring squeeze.  “You are wanting to go through the same thing with me,” she murmured.  “Aren’t you?”

“You - your knowledge base for those images is not as expansive as mine, and I ....”

Jane chuckled softly.  “I wondered if you would still be interested in this,” she commented.

Liara’s cheeks flushed slightly.  “I _am_ a prothean specialist, Commander.  I just do not wish you to think -”

“I am not backing away from my original agreement, Liara,” she promised with a smile.  “As a matter of fact, I am hoping that by having obtained the Cipher, it might help you and me both.”

“Both?  How ….  Oh!”  Liara looked thoughtful for a moment, but she nodded.  “Hmm.  I do believe your assessment may be correct, Commander.  The process should allow me to access both the Cipher as you received it as well the visions from the beacon.”

Jane nodded.  “I’d hoped as much, to be honest.  Though I have some personal knowledge into the history of the protheans, I can honestly say that whatever this thing is, I’m left clueless how to interpret it.”  Dropping her hands to her legs, she pushed herself back to her feet.  “Okay, so what do you need me to do?”

“It is a very similar process to what Shiala led you through,” Liara explained as she stood.  “Just close your eyes and relax.”

Jane did as instructed, noticing as Liara’s tone dropped and took on a more soothing quality to it.  Having recently gone through the same process with Shiala, she had a good idea what to expect.  As before, time moved both fast and slow.  The presence of another in her memories was comparable to the sensation of two hands brushing against one another - soft, gentle, almost like a caress.  The images themselves sped past with alarming speed - it was impossible to focus on one image before another took its place - but in the process, the events of the story began to unfold.  This was the first time since her encounter with Shiala that Jane had openly and willingly tried to look at the information again, and though many of the details now offered were sharper, starker, she could tell that something still was missing.  What that something was, Jane had no idea.

Her return to the reality surrounding her was less awkward this time, probably because she knew what to expect based off her previous experience.  Once the break was made, Jane’s eyes drifted to Liara’s.  Neither spoke for a very long moment, but both moved to sit down.  

“I … my goodness!” Liara finally breathed, her hand coming to press against her temple.  “That was most definitely ….”

“Yeah,” Jane replied a bit hoarsely.  Swallowing, she continued, “Can you make anything of it?”

“I … I am not certain,” she managed, eyes closed and her voice sounding a bit shaken.  “I might need time to … to absorb it all.  I had not realized just how much information was ... involved ....”

“Are you alright?” Jane asked next, reaching out to touch Liara’s arm to catch her attention when the asari’s voice trailed off.  “Should I get Dr. Chakwas?”

Liara’s eyes popped back open and found Jane’s.  “I think … I just need some rest,” she admitted as she slowly rose back to her feet.  “I think I will speak with Dr. Chakwas to be certain, though.”

Jane nodded.  “That sounds good.  I’m going to go lie down for a while myself.”  She stood, hand grasping the back of the chair as she caught herself during a brief wave of dizziness.  Once the initial wave passed, however, she made her way out of Liara’s office and the med bay.  When she reached her cabin a few moments later, she found it empty, but that was just as well as she planned to take lie down and finally seek out that sleep John had suggested earlier.

 

~ 0 ~

 

John stood in the doorway to their cabin, eyes focused across the dimly lit room.  Even from this distance, he could see that Jane was in a state of complete, exhaustive sleep.  He hated the thought of having to wake her - Liara had told informed him of the exchange that she and Jane had shared, hinting that it might wear on the Commander even more than  usual because she was not only not used to the process, but had been through two similar experiences in only a few short hours - but there was nothing else to be done.  

Moving to sit on the side of the bed, John reached out and touched Jane’s shoulder.  They were both experienced and well-trained soldiers.  Neither one particularly cared for being woken suddenly and without warning.  However, between them, they had managed to come up with a method that, on most occasions at least, their subconscious could interpret as less of a threat.  Placing one hand at her shoulder and taking her opposite hand in his, John firmly squeezed both at the same time.  He felt her body jerk in reaction, but had a smile ready when her eyes snapped open and found his.  “Hey there, Sunshine.”

Groaning, Jane pulled her hand from his and raised it to rub at her face.  “John … what time is it?”

“0900h,” he informed her.  “We’re coming up on Eletania in an hour or so.”

Blinking, Jane struggled to sit up, facing him.  “Ugh.  Ten hours sleep and I feel like it’s hardly been anything,” she muttered.

John chuckled and reached for the edge of the sheet to pull back.  “Who are you kidding?  You never were a morning person.”

Jane gave his arm a half-hearted punch.  “Oh, hush.”  Sighing, she scrubbed at her face again.  “Okay.  Eletania.  Data module.  Right.”  

John rose to his feet and offered her a hand up.  “Hit the showers, soldier,” he suggested.  “I’ll get your team together.”  They’d already decided only part of the team would tackle this one.

Stepping around her husband, Jane removed her dog tags and set them aside.  It was then that John noticed the addition to the chain.  “Huh.  So, that’s what you did with it.”

Reaching for her shower kit, Jane turned to face him.  “Did with what?”

He lifted the chain so she could see the trinket that the Consort had given him which he had later given to Jane during their dinner together upon the Citadel.  “This.”

Jane grinned.  “Had to put it somewhere it wouldn’t get lost, didn’t I?” she challenged.  

John rolled his eyes.  “Ever the romantic, I see.”

Jane, towel now in hand, snapped it at his backside.  Her grin widened at his yelp of protest.  “Watch yourself, Commander.”

John spun around, hand reaching out to grasp her arm before she could turn and walk away from him.  After pulling her close for a quick kiss, he teased back in an overly exaggerated seductive tone, “I’m _always_ watching you.”

Jane pushed him away, but there was the slightest hint of a blush at her cheeks as she finally turned to leave the room.  “You are such a goof.”

“But you love me for it,” he reminded her.  

Jane paused in the doorway and glanced back at him, a slightly awkward smile now curving at her lips.  “That, I do,” she agreed.  

 


	15. Chapter 15

“I think we missed a turn somewhere.”

Jane rolled her eyes.  “Oh _VERY_ funny,” she muttered, though even she had to join in with a few giggles after a moment.  Poor John, she thought though a grin broke wide across her face.  He really could not get away from that reputation no matter how far or fast he distanced himself from it!  Jane knew he was listening into their comm feed on this mission, too, and she was beginning to wonder if Williams’ seemingly subtle observation wasn’t supposed to be something ... more.  Reaching for the release to the harness holding her in her seat, Jane quipped, “It could be worse, I suppose.”

“Oh?” Williams asked, the hint of genuine curiosity mixed with impishness clear in her tone.  “How do you figure that, Commander?”

Jane’s grin widened as she glanced over at the Chief before donning her breather helmet.  “I could have come flying over that mountainside instead of easing my way down.  Can you imagine the calibrating the Mako would require after that to get it back into working condition?”  Jane could have sworn she heard a groan at the other end of the connection.  Garrus must be listening in with John, she realized.  Williams apparently heard it too because she began chuckling.  Rising to her feet, Jane called out, “Suit up.  Let’s see what this is.”

‘This’ was a prothean ruin, from the outward look of things, and Jane was beginning to wonder if she should have brought Liara along on this mission as well.  Her own skills, by comparison, were rudimentary at best.  Lifting her omni-tool, Jane captured several images before stepping forward to investigate in more detail; Williams and Tali followed a step behind.

“We’ve got about fifteen minutes,” Williams called out as a reminder.

Jane nodded, still moving towards the ruin.  “Got it, Chief,” she acknowledged.  Damned toxic hazards.  Eletania (so far) was a beautiful place.  Perfect for colonisation … except for one thing: the air was filled with living organisms that helped keep the planet going and would kill anyone breathing them in.  The breather filters in their armor would work for only a short while to keep them safe before they overloaded and left them in critical danger.  

“Hmm, the design of this thing kinda reminds me of where we found that beacon on Eden Prime,” Williams mused a moment later.

Jane nodded again.  “It does at that.”

“Only we didn’t have that silver suspended globe thingy.”

Jane chuckled.  “How very technically astute of you, Chief.”

“Well, what would _you_ call it, Commander?” Williams countered.

Jane, now standing directly in front of the sphere, reached out to touch it.  She caught the faintest flickering of the air around it before the sphere slowly rose, the action causing her companions to reach for their weapons and take a step or two back from her.  Jane, however, remained where she was.

“‘Silver sphere of death,’ works quite well,” Tali commented mildly.

“I agree with Tali,” Williams replied immediately.

Jane sighed.  “All it did was move,” she insisted.  Then lifting her hand to point, she moved closer and slightly beneath it.  “See?  Now I can see beneath it.”

_“What exactly do you see?”_

Jane’s eyes narrowed as John’s question filtered through her comm.  It wasn’t the first time on this mission he’d spoken, though she had noted that he seemed to be quieter this time out.  Perhaps curiosity was finally striking him?   _Probably just concerned based off of Tali and Williams’ assessment_ , the voice inside her head countered.  

“There’s some sort of … hmm.  What’s this?”  Kneeling, Jane twisted her body so she could move further beneath the sphere and look up at it.  “Looks like an opening of some kind.”

_“An opening?  How big?”_

“Smaller than a breadbasket,” Jane replied automatically.  She tilted her head to the side as she scanned it with her omni-tool.  There was something vaguely familiar about the shape of it that was tickling at the back of her mind.  

“Commander, ten minutes,” Williams called out.

“Roger that, Chief.”  Lowering her ‘tool, Jane reached a hand up and traced the shape.  “It kinda reminds me of … well, like a data port on a computer,” she murmured back to her husband.  

_“How big?”_

“Not very.  Maybe about ….”  Jane’s voice trailed off as her eyes widened, inspiration hitting all at once.  Rising partially, one hand reached towards the seal of her armor around her neck.  “Williams, give me a hand here.”

Williams approached and knelt beside Jane.  “Uh, Commander, what are we doing?” she asked, hand wavering before touching the clasp.

“Just unhook it,” Jane ordered.  “I need to retrieve something off my tags.”

_“Jane, what’s going on?”_

Jane darted a sharp look up at Williams who rolled her eyes, but moved as directed.  As soon as the seal was released, Jane’s hand darted in and yanked sharply on the chain, breaking it.  The moment it was released, she signaled Williams to seal the armor again.  “I’m good,” she reassured John.  “I think I just figured out where that trinket the Consort gave you goes.”

_“Where what goes?  Jane!”_

Pulling the trinket off the chain links, Jane absently tucked the tags and chain into one of the empty utility pouches at her waist before lifting the trinket to the sphere.  Almost immediately, she could hear a sort of humming buzz, one that moved upwards throughout her body, centering in the space between her eyes, just behind her nose.  In the background, she could hear Williams call out in alarm, sensed Tali approaching from her side, but all she could focus on was the sensation vibrating through her skull just before a bright flash of light exploded before her eyes ....

 

~ 0 ~

 

_Her first thought as her eyes blinked open was that she didn’t recall falling asleep or tumbling backwards.  Lying on her back, she stared up at the sphere before her.  She could still sense the pulsations, could nearly see them vibrating in waves around the sphere, but inside her head everything still felt … fuzzy.  Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes again, held that for another moment, then opened them once more.  This time, she noticed her surroundings had changed to something much different than before._

_Gone were the ruins, the sphere, and in their place was a scene from something that had to have been thousands of years in the making.  A large expanse of trees surrounded her, a field of which appeared to have no end; the rocky slopes and caverns of ancient mountainous ranges that gave her and the others their homes throughout the centuries could be seen in the distance.  She knew not how she had ended up on the floor of the forest, but a dull ache at the back of her head caused her to reach up and press gently at the tender spot.  The loud squawking of several birds informed her that the day was winding down.  Instinct told her that she needed to return home, to alert the others … but to what?_

_Once upon her feet, she attempted a few tentative steps, leaning heavily upon her spear so she would not fall again.  Another sound caught her attention and, looking upwards, she found something strange.  It looked to be a bird of some sort, but what type, she had no idea.  Silver in color and reflecting the trees, the setting sun and everything else surrounding them, it was almost impossible to see the thing … but it was there.  She knew it.  Confusion took over and she shouted at the creature in frustration, hoping to force it into making a choice - stay or go.  A moment later, it rose from sight and scurried away.  Turning away, she started in the direction of home._

_Time passed but with no real sense of length or depth.  Cycles of life, of survival, took precedence over all life as it always did.  And yet, guiding her throughout it all in the back of her mind was the idea that she was not alone in her journey.  Realization began almost from her first steps away from the forest and they remained ever present for the rest of her life.  She wanted to explain it - to her parents when she was younger, to her mate when they bonded, even to her children so that they could pass along the knowledge to their future children, and yet she found no way to do so in a manner that they would understand.  In this, it seemed, she was alone._

_Years passed, her mate came and went, but he left her with children enough to care for her as she aged.  The weather grew harsher - cold, unforgiving.  As a result, food became more scarce and talk of finding a new home away from the tribal lands of her youth began to flourish among the others in the tribe.  Time was finally catching up to her and she knew it would be limited._

_Departing with the hunters, for even in her advanced years and with aging bones she was still one of the best, they gathered food for their journey.  During the hunt, however, a motion caught her eye and she looked up to find the approach of a bird she had long thought gone, but very faintly remembered.  The memory hit with a roaring blast so loud that it shook the ground beneath their feet and caused their ears to bleed.  Terrified, the others turned away and fled, but she stood there, spear thrust upwards into the air, fist shaking while shouting angrily at the disruption of their hunt.  The creature opened an eye in response, and something about this caused fear to prickle along her spine.  It was not recognition, per se, but the first tremblings of fear began as a result.  Turning away, she started after the others, but the flash of red that followed blocked her path, meeting her along the way …._

 

~ 0 ~

 

Jane felt herself return to the present with a harsh gasping that rattled through her entire body.  The images still fresh in her mind, she found it difficult to disassociate herself from them; particularly when some were reminiscent of images she’d received from the prothean beacon.  Strong hands at her back kept her from falling and she heard both Williams and Tali calling out her name, both with more than just a hint of concern embedded in the tone.  “I’m okay,” Jane whispered hoarsely before repositioning herself to rise, then again in just a bit stronger voice.  “I’m okay.”

Williams’ hands held firm even once Jane was on her feet.  “What the hell just happened, Commander?” she demanded.

A warning beep from Williams’ HUD sounded then and Tali moved to Jane’s other side, sliding an arm around Jane’s waist in support.  Both she and Williams began leading Jane away from the ruins as the quarian explained, “Three minutes.”

Jane frowned in confusion.  “Three …?”

“Air filters?” Williams countered.

The jolt of reality that hit at those two words pulled Jane out of whatever residual ties still connected Jane to her experience.  With the help of both Tali and Williams, she crossed the open area and climbed inside the Mako.  

Jane tumbled into the driver’s seat, ignoring the crashing thud of Williams’ helmet as she carelessly tossed it towards the rear of the vehicle.  Tali remained silent, sealing the door to the Mako behind them and making certain the air filters within the vehicle were working correctly.

“What in the _hell_ just happened back there, Commander?” Williams asked for the second time.  “One minute you’re reaching to put that … whatever that thing was into the sphere, and the next there’s this bright flash of light -”

“It set off all sorts of alarms in my suit,” Tali added for emphasis.

“Yeah,” Williams agreed with a nod.  “It certainly made my eyes hurt, too.  And after, you just sort of … crumpled to the ground.”

Jane frowned, her hand reaching up to touch at a tender spot at the back of her head.  Well, that explained that at least.

“Are you okay, Commander?” Tali asked.

Swallowing, Jane looked from one to the other, but after a moment, she nodded.  “Yeah, I’m fine,” she finally replied.  A crackling noise over the comm reminded her of John’s input into the mission and she raised a hand to respond, but there was nothing but dead air.  Frowning, she glanced at the other two.  “What happened to the comms?”

Williams shrugged, but Tali offered, “Possibly jammed from whatever caused that bright light.  Maybe if we get away from this area they’ll return.”  She shrugged.  “Hell, maybe it fried them.  Who knows.  All I _do_ know at this point is we’ve still got the mission objective to complete and I’m not sure you’re all there yet.”

Jane sighed softly, but waved Williams off.  “I’m fine, Chief,” she repeated, her voice sounding much stronger than just a few minutes ago.  “It was just … another vision, I guess.”  She shrugged.  “Not exactly like Eden Prime - at least not in content, but maybe hinting at something similar?  I don’t know …. I’ll have to think about it for a while first.”

“Oh, that’s just great,” Williams muttered, sinking back into the seat.  “Permission to speak freely, Commander?”

Jane felt a small smirk pull at her lips.  “I don’t see that it’s stopped you yet, Chief,” she mused in a mild tone.

Williams froze for half a second, eyes meeting Jane’s and the Commander could read several emotional responses behind them ranging from _Oh, shit!_ to something more amused.  Finally smiling, Jane assured her, “Go ahead.  Speak your mind.”

“Yeah … uh, thanks for that, I guess,” she began.  Hand rising, she rubbed at the base of her neck in a somewhat nervous sort of gesture, but Jane waited patiently.  For her part, Tali sat in her seat quietly.  “Well, all I was going to say was, if you plan to keep doing this sort of shit - err, thing, ma’am,” Jane bit back a laugh as the Chief’s eyes met hers again for one frantic second of panic, “you’d better start planning on bringing Dr. Chakwas along.  Or maybe Alenko, since he’s got medical training and all.  I’m nowhere near qualified for this sort of thing.”

“Me either,” Tali piped up.  Jane and Williams both turned to face the quarian who began fidgeting with her hands when their attention fell upon her.  “I … I mean, I can take care of myself, of course,” she explained, “and other quarians, but humans … not so much.”

Jane did chuckle softly this time.  Lifting her hands to her face, she rubbed her eyes and then her cheeks for a moment, the sensation giving her one last method of grounding herself.  “Duly noted,” she replied after a moment.  “You can even make an official notation in the logs when we get back, Chief.”  Jane flashed the younger woman one last reassuring smile.  “Had I realized that was going to happen, I would not have -”

Williams snorted.  “Oh, please, Commander,” she countered.  “Your reputation precedes you.”

Jane sighed and nodded again.  “I suppose it does at that … which is why I value your input,” she added.  “If I’m crossing a line that will put the team in jeopardy, I need to know it.”  Taking a deep breath, she straightened and reached for her harness to strap in.  “Right then.  Let’s get this show back on the road, shall we?”

“You sure you’re up to driving, Commander?” Williams asked as she and Tali switched seats so the quarian could navigate.  There was less argument in her tone this time than one last opportunity to call for a change.

Jane nodded.  “I’ll manage,” she replied firmly as she started up the vehicle.  “Let’s get it done.”

 

~ 0 ~

 

John exited the elevator just moments after the Mako slid to a stop in the _Normandy_ ’s cargo bay.  The hatch was just finishing closing procedures under Garrus’ supervision when John stepped off the lift.  The first thing he noted was Tali and Williams exiting the vehicle and he nodded a greeting in their direction as they walked past him to change out of their armor and leave their weapons for post-mission inspection, but his main focus was on the hatch to the Mako.  By the time he stepped in close, Jane was standing in front of him looking decidedly worn out.  “Got it?” he asked.

Jane nodded.  Reaching into a pouch, she retrieved the data module and handed it over.  “For _that_ we had to frisk every single space monkey down there, I swear,” she muttered before crossing over to her locker.  “By the end, I was about to start throwing them against the walls out of sheer frustration.  This better’ve been worth it.”

John examined the data module briefly before slipping it safely into his pocket.  “I’m sure Hackett will tell you it was,” he informed her.  “I’ll get the information off to him ASAP.”  Nearby, he heard the rumbling of Wrex’s laughter as it echoed through the open space, an oddly reassuring sort of a sound.  A quick glance told him why - apparently, Tali was recounting the trip to the surface.  Which reminded him …  

Turning back to his wife, John closed the gap between them, moving to assist her with removal of her armor.  “You okay?” he asked quietly.  

Jane nodded while handing over her weapons that he set aside on Williams’ workbench for cleaning later.  “Yeah, I’m good,” she replied.  “Just a little drained.”

John nodded.  “Sounds like it,” he murmured.  Tali’s voice was pitched just high enough they both could hear her explaining what had occurred at the prothean site.  He caught Jane’s wince as Tali recounted the adventure with the sphere.  “What the hell happened?”

Shrugging out of the armor and setting it inside her locker for now, Jane slipped into her BDUs.  “Dunno.  Bright light, some weird dreams … pretty much the usual anymore,” she explained in a nonchalant tone.  Glancing up at him, she noted the lines of worry around his eyes and mouth.  Reaching out, she touched his arm and squeezed gently.  “John, it’s okay,” she reminded him quietly.  “Like I told Williams and Tali, _I’m_ okay.”  She sat down for a moment, yanking on her boot laces to tighten them before tying them off.  Once completed, she rose again.  “How about buying a girl some lunch, hmm?”

John ignored the teasing, but led her to the elevator where they rode up in silence.  He had a sneaking suspicion, knowing Jane as well as he did, that there was more to the story than she was telling.

 

~ 0 ~

 

After a meal, a hot shower and a considerable nap, Jane could say she felt a thousand times better than she had upon their return from Eletania.  In fact, she felt so refreshed she decided to change into her sweats and sneakers and head down to the small gym tucked away just off the shuttle bay for a workout.  A few rounds with the punching bag to remind her body that yes indeed she remembered certain self defense moves would be just the ticket to work out any residual stiffness or after effects from the mission.

At least, that was the plan.  It lasted all of about two minutes after she exited the lift.  Turning to her left, she encountered Wrex who was, currently, fieldstripping his shotgun and cleaning it.  “Hey, Wrex,” she greeted him.

“Shepard.”

Jane was about to continue on towards the gym, but something about the krogan’s body language (when had she suddenly decided she could read that?) kept her from turning away.  Instead, she stepped over to join him, pulling herself to sit up on top of one of the nearby crates.  “Something going on?” she asked casually.

There was something about a krogan’s laughter, Jane mused as Wrex remained silent and continued on with the job at hand.  Or maybe, it was just Wrex.  Their conversations in since first meeting had grown in length (and tolerance of the other) to the point where they could quite easily sit in one another’s companionable presence for any amount of time without the necessity for dialogue.  Whatever might come this time, Jane chose to lean back against the hull for the moment and will herself to relax as she waited.  

Her patience paid off.  

“Ran into someone the last time we were at the Citadel on leave,” Wrex finally rumbled some time later.

Jane chuckled softly.  “I hope he could still walk afterwards?” she quipped.

Wrex joined in the laughter.  “Nice one, Shepard,” he acknowledged.  “Actually, he was an old buddy of mine.  Someone I met years ago.  We met, oh, a hundred years or so ago.  Back when we both were working as bodyguards for the same salarian merchant.”

Wrapping her arms around one bent leg, Jane pulled it to her chest so she could rest her chin upon her knee.  “I already get the feeling there’s an ‘and’ or a ‘but’ to this story,” she murmured.

His chuckling rumbled deeper.  “You’d be right on that count,” he told her.  He paused a long moment, the final pieces in place as he raised his shotgun and examined it.  Nodding his satisfaction, he set it aside and turned to face Jane.  “Saved his sorry ass a couple of times.  Disagreed with him a few more.  But overall, we got along well enough.”

“He a krogan too?”

Wrex nodded.  “Yeah.  Son of one of the minor clan chiefs.  Never met him before I left Tuchanka, but it gave us something to talk about when things were dull.”

Jane kept her eyes upon him, narrowing them slightly at this pronouncement.  “Somehow, I think your idea of ‘dull’ and humans’ ideas of ‘dull’ are not the same thing.”

“Probably not,” he agreed.  “Not sure you’d call us ‘friends,’ but we’ve saved each other’s asses enough times to not shoot on sight at least.”

Jane nearly choked at that.  “Well,” she managed after a moment.  “That’s … good.  I think?”  She lifted her brow in question.  

Wrex chuckled again, nodding slowly.  “It was, as it turns out.”  He retrieved his pistol and began the same procedure he had used on the shotgun.  “Told me he’s been hearing some things lately.”

Jane sat back, her eyes still locked on his.  There was just enough of a hint at … something in his tone that Jane could feel the hair on the back of her neck begin to creep upwards.  “Like …?”

“Like … the first human Spectre also being the Hero of Elysium.”

Jane scowled.  She hated that moniker with a passion.  She’d tried to pass it off onto John after that series of events - _HE_ was the one who didn’t mind (at most times) the public persona, the media interviews, the hoopla that went along with being a recognized public figure.  She, on the other hand, preferred her privacy.  “Old news,” she muttered, eyes drifting away to her left.

They returned almost immediately when Wrex said nothing and his hands stopped taking his weapon apart.  Glancing back over at him, Jane noted a more serious manner to the krogan warlord.  “I didn’t say anything sooner,”  he told her quietly, emphatically, “because I wasn’t sure there was an issue to be had out of it.  But while you were on Eletania, I got a short message from Vontak.”

“Not good news, I take it?” Jane queried.

The glower that settled over Wrex then startled Jane.  She wasn’t used to seeing it outside of a battlefield, to be honest.  “When I saw him on the Citadel, he told me there were rumors - ‘people’ out to get the first human Spectre because of her involvement with the Blitz,” he explained.  “But he didn’t have much to go on - just bits of hearsay he’d picked up from various places.”

“Until today?”

Wrex nodded.  “Until today,” he agreed.  “He still doesn’t say _who_ is behind it, but he thinks it’s more than just rumor.  Not mercs,” the krogan added.  “If it was that, he would have told me.  Like I said … he owes me.  Still nothing really concrete, but the rumors are … threats.  Calls for vengeance.  Especially now that you’ve been made Spectre.”

Jane sighed, her head tilting backwards and hitting the bulkhead with a muted thunk.  “Won’t be the first,” she murmured.

“Nor the last,” Wrex agreed, “but we can’t let them get in the way of our mission to stop Saren.”

“True.”  She sighed again before turning to face him.  “Is Vontak looking for more information on this?  If I offered him something … credits, maybe?  Equipment?  Would he still keep an ear out?”

Wrex’s chuckle returned and as before, Jane found some comfort in the sound.  She wished she knew why.  “Not to worry, Shepard,” he told her.  “Like I said, Vontak _OWES_ me.  He’s got his ear to the ground when he’s not shooting up those firing at him.”

It took Jane a long moment to realize the sigh of relief she heard wasn’t her own but John’s.  “We’ll have to see if we can’t put some of our own feelers out too,” he announced as he moved in from the shadows of the hallway leading to engineering.  

Blinking back surprise, Jane sat up and hopped back down to the deck.  When she spotted the streak of grease running along the side of his nose, she couldn’t keep from laughing.  “Adams got you doing grunt work again?” she teased, reaching up to wipe at the smear with the sleeve of her hoodie.  Turning to Wrex, she gave the krogan a nod of thanks.  “Keep me updated,” she told him, “and let me know if further incentive becomes necessary.”

“Will do, Shepard,” Wrex agreed.

Looping her arm through her husband’s, she fell into step beside him as they approached the elevator.  He hadn’t responded to her teasing, so she knew he’d been actively involved in _some_ thing in the engineering department.  

“You look like you were going to work out,” he observed as the doors closed behind them and the lift began traveling slowly upwards.

Jane glanced down at her clothing.  “Yeah, well … plans change,” she told him.  Shrugging, she lifted her head to meet his eyes.  “Too late now.  I’m on duty in twenty.”

“Well, maybe I’ll take advantage of a quiet gym,” he countered.  

Jane grinned and laughed softly, this time noticing another smear running from his temple up into his hairline.  “ _AFTER_ you clean up,” she advised with a wink.

He noted the look in her eyes and lifted his hand to find the culprit.  Sighing, he nodded.  “After I clean up,” he agreed as the lift came to a stop and he led the way around towards their cabin.  “We wouldn’t want the first human Spectre writing me up for being unpresentable for duty, now, would we?”

“Certainly not.”  Jane’s giggles then disappeared behind closing doors.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone else ever notice the description of what happens with the prothean sphere begins with a prothean visit and ends with a reaper visit? I used that description as the foundation for that part of this chapter and altered it as necessary to fit Jane's story. But yeah, got a whole lot more out of that description this time than before ....


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the long delay in updating this and my other stories. Real Life reared its ugly head about a year ago and has not let up which has made it very difficult to focus on the things that used to be my way of escaping. One thing after another after another (I won’t bore you with details); participating in NANO last November, too; the holidays always eat up time that could be used elsewhere; and then the same sort of thing continued into the new year, etc. I am hoping I’ve turned the corner now and that I can get back to posting on a more regular basis, assuming the muses cooperate with their ideas!  
> I also want to take a moment to point something out after a couple of reviews over the past few months. This story will be told as I wish to tell it. It is not meant to be a rehashing of every single battle or event from the games. Some will make it in (those that help with character development, for example), some won’t. I prefer to look at the ‘spaces in between’ for the most part – the times the characters spend together outside what we see in the game. For those who do not like that I’m not following the ‘canon’ interpretation of things (and I am well aware what the canon is), I never intended to. That should have been obvious when I first paired John and Jane together as husband and wife. So, if this is not something you wish to read, by all means, feel free to ignore it and move along. There will be some predictable plot twists coming up and some that, I hope, are NOT as predictable. I want to follow this through all three games. I have it plotted out to do just that, but it will be MY interpretation.  
> That said, I hope you enjoy this chapter. This is one I’ve had in mind for quite a long time and I hope I was able to do it some sort of justice. It could have gone on longer … and longer … and longer, but ultimately I decided to end it where I did because it needed to end there. You can allow your imaginations to fill in the rest. :)

The mission orders from Admiral Hackett had hinted that it could be a rough one, but hey, they were N7 marines and that was to be expected.  John was in the CIC when the call came, and he noted immediately Jane’s insistence on getting through the mission without guns being drawn.  At the time, he couldn’t help a small smile.  It wasn’t anything unusual and was actually one of the things he loved about her personality, to be honest.  He knew for a fact that she was not afraid to use force when necessary - hell, he’d seen it in action even before she became N7  but he also understood that Jane preferred to take the diplomatic route whenever possible.  Certainly she tended to more so than most others in command that he knew, and that included himself.  And if _any_ one could succeed at this, he knew she could.  He had no doubts that was, at least in part, why the Council had chosen her as the first human spectre.  

But on this particular mission, Jane’s absolute insistence to Admiral Hackett that there would be a way to talk things through was more of a warning bell.  Or, it should have been, at least.  But, when Jane turned away from the galaxy map having set their destination for Presrop, searching him out and announcing that she wanted him on the ground team with her this time, he replied as he usually did.  And as far as he was concerned, “Got your six,” was more than just a promise.  Only later would he look back and realize he should have caught the signs.

 

~ 0 ~

 

There was always a danger when returning the Mako to the _Normandy_ after a mission.  Simply due to the nature in which the ship had to collect the vehicle there was danger.  Scooping the vehicle out of low atmosphere, the small space it had to stop - all of it posed dangers to both crew in the vehicle and those in the shuttle bay.  From the very beginning, John had put into place regulations that the shuttle bay must be cleared out during pickups - just in case.  

Their return from Presrop was no different.  The Mako came to its usual sudden sharp and jolting halt.  Maybe the brakes had been hit a bit early or just a little too hard, and as a result the harnesses bit just a bit more into the shoulders, but they arrived easily enough and in relative safety.  The moment the Mako ceased movement, the crew members who had evacuated the shuttle bay returned to their duties.  But inside the Mako, there was something else afoot.  Tension hung thick in the air, though no one said a word.  Then again, the normal pause between arrival and the vehicle being secured before anyone disembarked was ignored as Jane rose and escaped out the door before any of the others could move.  John looked out the window to see that she was halfway to the elevator before he even realized it, leaving him no opportunity to slip free of his safety harness to follow.  He kept an eye on her for a long moment as the elevator door closed, noting only that she refused to look in his direction.  And _THAT_ caught him off guard.  Something about the mission clearly bothered her, but as John removed his harness and left the vehicle, all the while evaluating what had happened while planetside, he could not find a reason for it.  As far as he was concerned, the mission had gone even better than expected.

Deciding that giving his wife some space might be the better option just then, John took his time removing arms and armor rather than chasing after her immediately.

“Skipper?”

John glanced over at Williams who extended a hand towards him.  One at a time, he was relieved of his weapons.  “Thanks, Chief.”

“Is the Commander alright?”

John glanced over to his left this time, lips turning upwards into a gentle, reassuring smile.  “She will be fine,” he assured Liara, though in the back of his mind he couldn’t help but wonder if he wasn’t trying to reassure himself of that as well.

“Commander?”  This time it was Alenko’s voice breaking in over the comms.

“Go ahead, LT,” John replied.

“Alliance escort is inbound to retrieve Major Kyle.  They give their ETA at twenty-five minutes.”

“Got it.  Let me know if they run into any problems.”  John stripped out of his armor next, shoving it inside his locker and quickly changing into his BDUs while the others did the same.  Only then did they all head towards the elevator.  Together, but in silence.  John sighed softly, inwardly.  Jane’s absence was keenly felt, though the others kept from mentioning it.  Post-mission habits were something Jane was quite fastidious about.  Having set the trend from the beginning, each ground team would disarm, disarmor and then head to the mess for an informal debrief while at the same time catching a meal together.  Only then would they go their separate ways.    

This time, John broke away from the group heading towards the mess, informing them they would debrief later.  Instead, he headed up the stairs towards the CIC.  There, he conversed briefly with Pressly and determined that Jane had already contacted and been debriefed by Admiral Hackett.  Retracing his steps back to the second level, he made their cabin his next destination.  Where else would she go while still dressed in her gear, right?

But stepping inside the room, he found it completely empty and dark.  Frowning, he realized the room was essentially undisturbed from how it had been when he and Jane left it earlier in the day.  There was no evidence of her having been in the room at all since.  

John scanned the room one last time before he exited, considering his next move.   _Where did she go?_

He was waiting on the elevator to return to crew deck level from the shuttle bay when realization hit him.  Spinning on his heel and a  quick backtrack of his steps had him at the entrance to the observation lounge within thirty seconds.  There, he found the lights off, but on the far side of the room John spotted a familiar silhouette standing by the window … a silhouette still clad in N7 armor.  

“Hey.”

Jane remained staring out the window as he spoke and that lack of reaction niggled at his growing concern.  Not a movement or a sound until finally a quiet and very resigned, “Hey.”

John crossed the room at a casual pace, hands in his pockets.  He moved to stand behind her, but he did not touch her just yet.  “You okay?” he asked quietly.

The hesitation was nearly invisible, but John caught it.  Heard it in the extra force with which she exhaled the already heavy sigh.  Saw it in the stiffening of her shoulders, the extra half second she kept her eyes closed, the way her lashes fluttered against her cheeks and her shoulders trembled as a shudder rolled just beneath the surface.  These were things he suspected most people probably wouldn’t have noticed, and yet because he knew her so well he saw them and categorized them instantly.  Something was definitely wrong.

“I’m fine.”

John closed the remaining distance between them with a single step, his hands leaving his pockets to rest lightly at her hips.  Jane’s head tilted backwards just enough to come to rest at his shoulder.  Their height difference often was a source for teasing - usually at his instigation but not always - but this was not the time or place.  Instead, he offered her a simple smile.  Jane was more than well aware that she was on the shorter side of things, but she never let it get in the way of anything, particularly the mission.  This time, John used it to his advantage ....  

 

~ 0 ~

 

Despite the armor, despite her inner turmoil and the distraction caused by it, Jane accepted the hands at her waist without comment.  From experience, she knew she could refuse it by taking a step away or accept it as it as reassurance that he was there for her however she might need him.  It was this latter that she did by relaxing back against him.  She had no doubt that he, like her, was staring out at the stars beyond, but unlike her he would be attuned to her every movement and sound.  How many times had they stood like this?  After a mission?  During down time?  Just taking a moment to recharge, to gather thoughts, to simply BE for just a moment before moving on to the next item on their duty list?  While not a frequent occurrence due to their usual separate postings, it happened often enough that Jane knew he would wait for her to make the next move.  No pressure.  No nothing.  Just a sponge waiting to absorb whatever it was she decided to throw his way … or not.  For her, this was one of the most incredible things about their relationship.  It had started when they first met as teenagers, and was still present to this day.  Somehow, whenever she hit a breaking point of some sort, he always recognized it and knew what she needed.  

Another small tremor worked its way across her shoulders, interrupting her thoughts.  A moment later, Jane sighed again and tilted her head to look up at him, the signal that he had ‘won’ this round.  He didn’t call her out to challenge her on her earlier denial, she noted gratefully, though she did feel the slight movement as he dropped his head and pressed his lips against the top of hers for the briefest of moments.  

That was the only trigger she needed.

Sucking in a sharp, half rasp, she choked out, “I was afraid he wasn’t going to back down.  If you hadn’t been there ….”  Jane shuddered again, her words echoing across the otherwise empty room.  There wasn’t much out there that she could or would openly admit to being afraid of, but the loss of innocent lives because of one individual who could not see or accept the easier way out ….  This time she had felt real fear that it would end with violence … that she would not be able to find the way to see it clear as she had promised Admiral Hackett.

John’s arms tightened around her in an awkward sort of bear hug, but Jane was prepared for it.  Turning within his arms, she wrapped her own around his waist and just soaked in his strength.  

“You had it well under control,” he rumbled reassuringly.  His hands rose and Jane felt them slide gently against her cheeks in order to frame her face, tilting her head to look up at him again.  “All I did was remind him what would have happened if he didn’t follow your suggestion.”

Jane searched his eyes for a long moment.  Her reaction to the mission caught her off guard.  Unprepared.  Unexpected.  In reality, it wasn’t so much the fact that it could have gone badly - missions often straddled that difficult line of balance and she could deal with that.  No, what struck her to the core this time was the realization that each and every one of Kyle’s civilian followers at that compound could have lost their lives because of one man’s stress-induced reaction.   _THAT_ was what haunted her now that the mission was over.  Add in the damage her team could have taken too, and well ….

John’s hands dropped to her shoulders this time, wrapping around her, pulling her as close as he could.  “You know as well as I do that dwelling on ‘what ifs’ serves no purpose,” he reminded her quietly.

Jane nodded against his chest.  “Yeah,” she whispered, “I know.  I’m just ... .”  She sighed again before pushing back and lifting a hand to rub at her temple.  She didn’t want to - _couldn’t_ \- dwell on this right now.  It was rare that she ended up doubting herself on missions.  Hesitating.  In their line of work, it could get people killed just as easily as anything else.  Given her Spectre rank and the added responsibilities that went along with that, well ….  “I’m just … God, John, I’m just so tired,” she finally whispered.  

John nodded and said nothing.  Both of them were used to the stress involved with being N7.  They had been for several years now, but they had learned to cope with it.  Focus on the mission, then ‘deal’ with it afterwards.  But from the moment Jane had taken on the added responsibilities handed to her as the first human spectre, John had noticed a difference.  There was no real chance for downtime.  Each  mission seemed to bleed into the next.  And really, when hunting for a rogue spectre and his army of geth, what could one expect?  They weren’t going to just suddenly stop, put their hands up and surrender.  Jane had been handling things well so far, but there would have to be the inevitable crashing point.  Everyone had one.  Those who did not handle the stress well could hit it before the mission was over … and John wasn’t going to watch that happen to her.  He knew good and well that she wasn’t at her ‘breaking point’ just yet, but she was close.  By her own admission, though not in so many words, she was telling him that she was exhausted physically and mentally to the point of desperately needing some downtime.  Hell, at this point in their chase after Saren, they _all_ needed some downtime.

And _that_ triggered an idea.  

Jane didn’t see the smirk that made the corner of his lips quiver slightly, but she certainly heard it in his next words.  “Tired, huh?  Alright, marine, listen up.  You have exactly one hour to shower and change and report back here for further instruction.”

Lifting her head, Jane glanced up at him, head tilting slightly to her right and brow rising in question, but her lips did pull into a small smile in response.  “Is that an order, Commander?” she countered with just a touch of sass.

“Indeed it is, Commander,” John returned with mock severity as he released her and took a step back.  “Make it happen, soldier!” he added, arm sweeping dramatically towards the doorway.  “You now have fifty-nine minutes, forty seconds and counting!”

Biting back a small laugh and already feeling her mood slightly improved, Jane gave him a quick salute.  “Aye aye, sir!”  Only then did she turn and exit the room.

 

~ 0 ~

 

John was used to pulling ideas out of thin air and planning them on the fly.  It was one of the traits that helped him in the field when mission parameters did not always adhere to the best case scenario.  So, while he now had less than an hour to put this quickly evolving plan into operation, he knew he had a few things working in his favor.  

Starting things off, he sent a quick message via omni-tool to the others to meet him in the observation lounge even as Jane turned to leave.  Their meeting location was out of necessity by virtue of Jane’s close proximity in the Captain’s cabin.  Though the cabin was a self-contained unit and she shouldn’t have to leave, there was a chance she might, particularly if she decided upon a cup of tea or some kind of snack to tide her over.  

Alenko was the first to arrive and John realized that the Lieutenant must have recognized the look on his Commander’s face the minute he entered.  Eyes meeting, the Lieutenant nodded once, firmly and knowingly, before spinning on his heel and retreating, allowing the others access inside the room.  

John’s briefing was short, and once each person had their assignment, they all moved into action.  John followed them out, turning sharply towards his left to head to the galley with Williams and Garrus on his heels.  Alenko met them there a few minutes later.  Moving in, John  had already begun retrieving items from the storage cabinets, handing them over to the Chief who was more than willing to put them to use.  

“I got this, Skipper,” Williams told him as she moved forward, taking the bowls and boxes and other items and equipment.  Their transition was smooth, and John quickly stepped out of her way, moving over beside Alenko.  After a moment, Garrus headed towards the back of the galley where the dextro food items were kept, all the while carefully circumventing Williams and her work space.  

“Here,” Alenko murmured to John, handing over a thin, plastic case.  

John took it, tilted it sideways and grinned as he read the title printed on the side.  “Perfect,” he replied, grinning over at the Lieutenant.  “Must be a sentinel thing, though,” he added.  “She loves this stuff.”

Alenko shrugged, small smile battling at the corner of his lips as his eyes twinkled with amusement.  “Trade secret,” he offered, refusing to acknowledge it more than that.  “So, where are the others?”

John’s eyes were on Williams’ efficiency in the small kitchen as the whirring sound of the equipment filled the area, but his words were for the Lieutenant.  “Wrex, Tali and Liara are obtaining the necessary ‘comfort cubes.’”

Alenko frowned as he considered that one.  “‘Comfort cubes’?” he echoed.

Williams laughed, still engrossed in her duties, but quite able to respond.  “Pillows, LT.  Pillows.  That’s what Tali called them.”

John chuckled along with Williams.  “How’s it going over there, Chief?”

Williams flashed him a brilliant smile.  “Everything’s in good order, Skipper.”

“You look like you’ve got experience with that sort of thing.”  He nodded as she deftly switched bowls before it began overflowing.  “Miss your calling or something?”

Williams snorted in amusement.  “I’m the oldest of four sisters,” she explained.  “With dad away so much on long tours, I had to help mom raise the others.”  She shrugged.  “Food organization for a large crowd?  Piece of cake.”

John nodded, wondering how much of it actually was that as opposed to organizational abilities.  He knew her work station down in the shuttle bay was just as organized and efficient as the kitchen was at current.

“What about drinks?” Alenko asked.  

“Wrex is grabbing a case from down in storage,” John replied.  His eyes fell onto Garrus, still on the far side of the galley.  “How’s it going, Vakarian?  Got what you need?”

The turian didn’t reply for a moment, but did turn around and just as before, carefully maneuvered around the Chief again who was still moving with intent and purpose.  “This should do,” he replied when he joined Shepard and Alenko.  

John stared down at the contents of the bowl as the turian passed by.  He had no idea what it was - it looked a bit like pistachio nuts to him.  Some favored turian snack, no doubt - but as long as Garrus was happy with it, that was all that mattered.  “Good.  Okay, head on back to the lounge.”  He nodded at Alenko.  “You too, LT.  You can direct the others on the placement of the ‘comfort cubes’ while I help Williams finish up in here.”

“Yes, sir!”

John returned to the galley proper and began reaching for three of the now filled bowls.  “How many more, Chief?” he asked.  

Williams didn’t bother to look up at him as she was once again switching out bowls.  “Another two or three,” she replied.  “Then there’s the butter … and salt … Oh hey, Skipper, think you could help me out with that?”

John carefully set the bowls back down on the counter and moved around her.  “If you insist,” he teased while reaching for the necessary items.  “Wouldn’t want to disrupt your ‘battlefield maneuvers.’”

Williams flashed him a quick grin.  Chuckling softly, she assured him, “Nah, I’m just about done on this end.  How are we doing on time?”

John pressed a button on his omni-tool.  “We’re good,” he promised.  “Twenty minutes left.  Don’t worry, Jane will take every minute available to her.”

“Trust me, Skipper, there’s always a first time for everything,” the Chief warned.

John didn’t waste time considering that possibility.  Instead, he passed over the butter he’d melted and started a second batch.  “Just keep going,” he told her.  “We’ll be ready.”

 

~ 0 ~

 

Jane glanced down at her omni-tool as she opened the door to the cabin.   _Fifty-eight minutes and ten seconds_ , she observed as she crossed over to the observation lounge.   _Right on …. time …._

The room, once the door opened and she stepped inside, was still completely dark save for any ambient light coming from the stars beyond the windows.  It was the multiple silhouettes of her companions that informed Jane the room was indeed full.  “What’s going on?”

“Come on over here,” John’s voice called out from her left.  She recalled there being an oversized couch in the general vicinity.  

Turning, Jane reached out a hand on the premise of feeling her way across the room, but the unexpected warmth of a hand on hers had her jumping slightly in surprise.  A soft chuckle followed.  “Relax, Commander,” Williams assured her.  “I’ll keep you from tripping over LT’s big feet.”

Jane chuckled softly and heard what she thought was a mumbled mutter of protest from Alenko just before another arm reached over to guide her the rest of the way.  “Watch your step,” she heard John warn, and then felt a shuffle of movement as someone else shifted.  A moment later, she was pulled down to sit beside her husband on the sofa.  

Laughing at the ridiculousness of it all, she asked, “Is someone going to tell me what’s going on?”

The cushion beside her dipped just a bit as John settled in beside her.  His arm slid around her shoulders, but before she could comment, a large pillowy cushion was placed on her lap.  “What the …?”

“‘Comfort cube,’” Alenko told her.  

Eyes now getting accustomed to the darkness of the room, Jane squinted over in his general direction.  “‘Comfort cube?’” she echoed.

“Ask Tali later,” he replied quietly.  “It’s a quarian thing, I guess.”

“Ah.  Got it.”  

A moment later, Alenko dropped to the floor to her right just as Jane’s senses were assaulted by very familiar strains of music.  Turning, her eyes traveled to the projection screen on the opposite side of the room … just in time to recognize the opening shots of ….

Gasping softly, Jane actually bounced upwards in her seat as she glanced over at her husband.  “Star Wars?!”

John shrugged.  “The general idea was mine, the movie was Alenko’s,” he admitted.

Jane glanced over at the Lieutenant and reached out to fist-bump him; both grinned widely as their knuckles connected.  Jane blatantly ignored John’s good natured grumblings and mutterings about sentinels, instead settling herself more comfortably into her space on the couch and hugging her ‘comfort cube’ closer.  

“Here you go, Commander,” Williams said quietly while handing a bowl over.  “It’s not really a movie without the --”

“Popcorn!”  Shaking her head, Jane took the offered bowl and couldn’t stop laughing.  “You guys are spoiling me and it’s not even my birthday!”

Williams chuckled and grinned as she sat back directly behind Alenko.  She gave his shoulder a gentle nudge with the toe of her boot, and he passed back several bottles.  “Oh, we shall see about that!  Challenge issued!”

But the first sounds of battle could be heard coming from the screen and Wrex, Garrus, Tali and Liara all hissed, “Shhhh!”  Jane wasn’t sure just then what she found more amusing - the intensity with which the film had already seemed to capture them or the fact that somehow, John had done it again, finding just the ticket to help her relax when she needed it most.

Everyone settled in as the movie progressed.  Periodically, Jane darted quick glances around the room.  Wrex appeared quite satisfied at first … until the battling stopped and the story really began.  Garrus, if Jane was reading him right, seemed rather thoughtful as he took it all in.  But it was Tali who really caught Jane’s attention.  The quarian was laying on the floor, propped up by several of her ‘comfort cubes’ and with a stack of ….  Jane frowned as she tried to decide just what the tube-like things were.  The packaging sort of reminded her of the food packets that Earth’s astronauts had taken with them back in their early days of space travel ….

So distracted by the unusual sight did she become that it wasn’t until Jane heard Williams and Liara and then Tali booing that she glanced back to the movie screen to see why.  

“That’s Saren, right there,” Williams announced while lifting a handful of popcorn, fisting it closely around the kernels as she used her finger to point at the screen.  She conveniently ignored Alenko’s protests as some of the broken kernels sprinkled through her clenched fist and onto the top of his head.

“Great.  Next thing you’ll know he’ll show up all in black and breathing through an air filter like a quarian,” Garrus offered.  He was rewarded with a smack to his leg from Tali who was only an arm’s reach away.  “Ouch!  Hey!”

“Don’t be such a bosh’tet!” she told him.  “Besides, Saren sounds more like an asthmatic volus than a quarian.”

Jane heard Williams snicker softly while trying to hold back an outright laugh.  John had to cough to keep a straight face, too.  Wrex, however, just barked a rough grunting sound which resulted in the room quieting so that they could hear the movie once again.

As the story continued to weave around them, Jane felt the pull of it as she always did.  It never failed - no matter the need for the distraction, by the time that Luke, Obi-Wan, C-3PO and R2-D2 were approaching Mos Eisley Space Station, Jane was thoroughly entrenched in the story.  Hook.  Line.  Sinker.

Jane suspected the same from many of the others if the giggles as, “These are not the droids you are looking for,” echoed throughout the room.

Only half focused on the movie himself, John was able to observe the others’ reactions, too, and soon came to realize that Jane was not the only one benefitting from the down time.  Later, he might be smug about it all, but for the moment he could sit back and relax with the others, taking advantage of the desperately needed, if only momentary, break from their mission ….


	17. Chapter 17

 

Noveria.   _You’ll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany._  

Kaidan bit back an amused laugh in silence as he crossed through Port Hanshan.  It really was a bit ironic, he thought, that they arrived here of all places shortly after watching _Star Wars_ together _._  In its own way, Noveria - Port Hanshan in particular - was much like Mos Eisley.  Maybe not in looks and outward appearances, he acknowledged, but certainly in activities if their arrival in the port was any indication.  

Still, they’d been allowed entrance into the port, though that was about it.  The trouble to make in inroads into locating Benezia and Saren and figure out their intentions on the planet now stalled, everyone was attempting to do their part.  

Except for him, it seemed.  Initially, Kaidan and Wrex had been charged with trading with the hanar, Opold, near the port entrance, but that had been completed easily enough and Wrex had taken off to follow up on a lead involving a fellow krogan merc, leaving Kaidan on his own.  Without any specific duties to attend, he’d considered returning to the ship to assist Garrus and Tali, but ultimately decided to go in search of the Commander.  After all, as spectre, she was in charge of the entire mission here, wasn’t she?  Perhaps she’d have something for him to do.

He found her at the lounge, off to the side and out of mainstream traffic, silently observing the room around her.  A small smirk played at his lips as he approached.  He could tell she was intent upon whatever had caught her attention, though, and rather than risk her wrath he cleared his throat when he was still a few steps away so he wouldn’t startle her.  She didn’t turn, but he heard a smile in her tone when she murmured, “It’s okay, LT, I won’t bite.  Much, anyway.”  Only then did she turn her head and give him a mischievous look, winking at him.  Startled by her somewhat playful attitude, Kaidan cleared his throat again and moved forward.  

“So,” she murmured, fingers playing with the stir straw thing in her empty glass though her eyes were focused across the room, “sitrep?”

Kaidan waved to a passing server, nodding at the drink the Commander had and raising two fingers.  Only then did he reply.  “The Captain’s talking with Administrator Anoleis as we speak.  He took Williams and Dr. T’Soni with him.”

She appeared to consider that for a moment before nodding.  “Hmm.  Good choice with Dr. T’Soni.  Diplomacy isn’t always John’s forte.”  

“Garrus and Tali are back aboard the _Normandy_ giving our gear the once over, I believe,” he continued, still searching for who or what it was that had her focus away from him even though he could tell she was still listening closely.  “I think the greeting we received upon our arrival left them a bit worried.”

Jane chuckled before waving her hand as if pushing away any worries.  “Part and parcel for a place like this,” she pointed out.  “Still, not a bad idea.”  She went silent for another moment before continuing, “We know Benezia is here.  And if she’s here, then chances are the geth and Saren are too.”  

“True,” he agreed.

“Where is Wrex?” she asked.  “I thought you both were trading with the hanar?”

“Opold didn’t have much we needed,” Kaidan replied as the server returned with drinks for him and the Commander, “And Wrex said he had something to check into.”  Hesitantly, he took a sip and found it to be nothing fancier or stronger than flavored water.  Taking a long sip, he set the glass back down and asked quietly, “Are you onto something, Commander?”

Her laughter was warm but had the slightest hint of a sharp edge to it.  Finally pulling her eyes from whatever it was she’d been watching, she turned to face him.  Only after a long pull from her own drink did she meet his gaze and reply, “See that asari over there?” she asked, nodding across the room.

Kaidan moved slowly, casually, being careful not to make his intentions obvious to anyone who might be watching them.  A moment later, he replied, “Yes.”

“She asked me to help her out when I got here,” Shepard replied.  She nodded to the opposite side of the room where a human stood at a table with a drink, in the middle of intense discussions with someone else.  “For someone wanting my help, her attitude left a lot to be desired.”  The Commander’s tone left no question to how she felt about the situation.

Kaidan’s brow arched out of instinct, but he said nothing.  Over his years of service with the Alliance, he had met a few asari.  Most had treated him with indifference for the most part, but there had been one or two whose outward sense of elitism had left him with a sour taste afterwards.  Then there were others, like Dr. T’Soni, who appeared to come from the completely opposite end of the spectrum: curiosity, interest, a willingness to learn from each other and share.  More of an exchange of ideas rather than a display of superiority.  All that said, however, Kaidan did not feel he had any real familiarity with them or their culture to base an opinion on and as such considered that he was certainly in no position to make a judgement.  “What did she want you to do?” he finally asked.

The Commander snorted softly, a mocking curve of a smile forming at her lips.  “After tossing several insults aimed at me and my level and ability of intelligence,” she explained, “she tried to convince me to spy for her.”  

Kaidan felt his eyes widen in surprise.  “Does she … does she know who you are?” he ventured.

The smile widened into a grin.  “Not a clue, so far as I can tell,” she replied.  Which was saying something, they both knew, because her spectre status appeared to be known by almost _every_ body in port.  The Commander turned slightly and nodded across the room.  “See him?  The one standing alone over at that table?”

Kaidan nodded as he took a drink.  “The target, I presume?”

The Commander nodded.  Leaning in towards him, Kaidan could not fail to notice the look of intimacy it gave their conversation.  Again, he had the uneasy feeling that someone might be watching them at the moment, and he wondered who it could be.  Her hand shifted, brushing against his for a moment and he felt something small and cool - metallic? - against his palm before she closed his fingers around it.  “That man is Rafael Vargas,” she murmured in a low tone meant only for him.  “He is a rep for _Binary Helix_ , from what I was told.  The asari wants me to use that,” she nodded at the device he held and had brought up for further inspection, “to implant monitoring viruses into his personal communications network.  She says she represents the _Armali Council_ and they want to know just what _Binary Helix_ is working on.”

Kaidan sighed heavily, realization dawning.  “Industrial espionage,” he murmured with a hint of disgust as he met her gaze once again.

The Commander smirked.  “Got it in one, LT,” she replied.  

“And, am I to assume that since you still have the device that you haven’t approached Mr. Vargas yet?” he asked next.

She shook her head.  “Nope.  I was just getting ready to do so when you showed up,” she replied.  Downing the rest of her drink in one long gulp, she set one hand on the tabletop, palm open.  Kaidan covered her hand with his, smiling when he felt her fingers curl around it briefly before pulling away, once again with the device in hand.  “Wait here,” she told him.  “I’ll be right back.”

He still had about half his drink left, so while he waited, Kaidan continued to nurse it.  Occasionally, he darted a quick, careful, and considering look around the room.  Never hurt to know what they might be up against if whatever the Commander was doing turned south, right?  He was turning his attention back to the Commander when he heard a krogan bellow from above, but the architecture of the area kept him from having a clear line of sight as to the trouble at hand from his current vantage point.  

The Commander finished speaking with Vargas and crossed the room, winking broadly at Kaidan as she passed the table on her way to speak with the asari who had requested her assistance.  Vargas, for his part, remained where he’d been, signalling a server for a drink.  

It was only another minute or two before Kaidan heard a soft voice at his shoulder.  “Offer me your arm, LT, and let’s get out of here,” the Commander instructed.  “Nice and casual like.”

As she had done before, Kaidan downed the remaining contents of his glass before turning to do as she asked.  She leaned in towards him slightly, just enough to give the impression that they were together, as they walked towards the exit.  It was at that point that Kaidan noticed the asari was no longer in the area.  Only once he and the Commander were on the elevator leading to the main floor did he ask, “What did I just miss?”

The Commander began chuckling.  “A little bit of intergalactic justice,” she replied.  His brow arched as it had earlier, this time in definite question, and she grinned.  “I informed Mr. Vargas that the _Armali Council_ had particular interest in him and his company’s biotically engineered products,” she explained.  “After speaking with him, I let Calis -”

Kaidan frowned at the unfamiliar name.  “Who?”

“Sorry … the asari.  Her name is Calis.  Anyway, I let her know what I’d done.  Told her this would be more of a punishment than anything else.”  The Commander’s laughter deepened.  “She couldn’t get away fast enough!”

Confused, Kaidan frowned.  “So … you chose to help _Binary Helix_ over the Armali Council?”

The door to the elevator opened and they stepped off as she replied, “Honestly, Lieutenant, I could care less about helping either.  As far as I’m concerned, industrial espionage by one company is as bad as by any other.  Spying is spying; stealing is stealing.  No ifs, ands, or buts about it.  Had Calis had been a little less sanctimonious in the way she presented her request to me, I might have been willing to side with her.”  She shrugged as she led the way.  “I’m no saint,” she pointed out, “and I certainly don’t expect it from others given our line of work and the nature of the galaxy as we’ve discovered over the years.  Hell, for that matter, call me a cynic.  Whatever the case, there are still some things that just do not sit well with me in a general sense, and that was one of them.”  

“Calis will likely call you human-centric in your leanings,” he mused in reply.  “And once she finds out you are the first human spectre ….”

She shrugged again.  “Personally, I doubt she will say a word.  She is more concerned about being caught for what she was doing than anything.  And even if it did leak, who is going to listen to her word against what I am doing?”

The question was rhetorical, of course, and so Kaidan allowed it to drop as he followed her.  A short distance later, however, his steps slowed to match hers when John, Williams and Dr. T’Soni came into view leaving what he presumed was the Administrator’s office.  

“How did it go?” the Commander asked as they gathered near the windows, the unmistakable sounds of the blizzard outside rattling and roaring on the other side.

Williams, Kaidan noted, snorted softly at the question and quickly glanced away, and Liara appeared to be slightly flushed, but John ….  There was something in his eyes, a level of irritation that Kaidan recognized all too easily and had the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end in less than a half second.  Only years of training kept him from reaching immediately for the pistol he carried.

“We’ll need to find another way out of Port Hanshan,” John announced matter of factly.  “Administrator Anoleis doesn’t appear willing to assist.”

“‘The world is private property,’” Williams offered behind a strangled laugh.

Kaidan and the Commander exchanged a quick and somewhat amused look.  “Went that well, did it?” the Commander asked.

John sighed, eyes rolling.  “Pretty much.”

“Perhaps we should consider Miss Parasini’s idea,” Liara suggested.  

“Yeah,” Williams chimed in.  “It doesn’t sound like we’ll find any other way to get into the garage without a pass, and this Lorik Qui’in guy might be our best shot.”

“Who is Lorik Qui’in?” Kaidan asked.

“Manager of the local branch of _Synthetic Insights_ ,” John explained.  “Parasini seemed to think we might be able to help him.”

“And in return,” the Commander continued, “get a garage pass?”

John nodded.  “She said he’s up in the lounge.”

“In the lounge.”  The Commander smirked, glancing up at Kaidan.  “I guess we’re retracing our steps, LT,” she told him.

“Yes, ma’am,” he agreed.  

As the five of them fell into step on the way to the elevator, John glanced between the two of them and asked, “Something I should be aware of?”

Kaidan opted to remain silent, even though both Williams and Liara turned to look at him rather intently as the Commander explained their previous visit to the area.  He wasn’t quite certain why - after all, it’d been part of a mission, right? - but he found himself fighting back a sudden rise of warmth to his cheeks, especially once John turned to look at him.  “Didn’t know you had an interest in infiltration, Alenko.”

“Neither did I, sir,” Kaidan replied.  He met John’s look without flinching.  Kaidan knew the man well enough to consider him a friend as well as a commanding officer, and he hoped it was the same in return.  But now there was now a slight awkward element between them … or, maybe that was just in his own mind, he wasn’t sure at this point.  Still, the Captain didn’t seem upset or anything as Jane finished her explanation of what happened.  And, in the long run, Kaidan supposed John had a point: Kaidan, though his part in events had been minimal, had taken an interest in things as they’d progressed.  It certainly was a sight different than what he was used to.

The elevator doors opened, expelling the group onto the mezzanine level.  “Over there,” Williams said quietly, nodding to their left.  

The Commander nodded.  “Right then.  Let’s go.”

This time, Kaidan was determined to stand back and watch events unfold more than participate.  

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay - holidays, life, etc. Also, been playing through the series again and now in ME3 second time through, so trying to remember details about Noveria is tricky! Thank goodness for AUs! ;) Hope you enjoy - Happy New Year!

The taking down of Administrator Anoleis as an end result had been unexpectedly satisfying, Ashley thought, doing her utmost best to hide a grin and knowing she was failing miserably as she stood behind the Skipper while the salarian was taken away by Parasini.  There was also a lesson about things not always being as they appeared in there too, she mused.   _Don’t judge a book by it’s cover_ , her dad always used to say.  Ash thought she did a pretty good job of it for the most part, but hey, she was human and made mistakes at times.  She could own up to that when needed.

After exiting the office, Ash glanced between Dr. T’Soni and the Skipper.  “Where to now?”

“The lounge,” John announced even as he turned in that direction.  “If we’re lucky, the others will already be there.”

The journey took all of about fifteen minutes, and most of that while waiting on the elevator to return to the main floor.  As they stood waiting, Ash looked around the area, eyeing a few others - aliens, mostly - who were nearby.  None appeared to be a threat, but it didn’t hurt to keep one’s eyes open, either.

The lounge was hopping busy when they arrived.  Music was blaring loud enough to cause pain and Ash winced, noting from the quick manner in which Dr. T’Soni turned her head and the squinting of her eyes, she felt the same.  The Skipper didn’t appear to be affected at all.  In fact, he didn’t even pause his steps, striding across the room with a nonchalant sort of confidence that Ash found herself envying.  

“Well, at least we got a garage pass out of all that,” John announced while stepping up to the table and placing it on the table in front of his wife.  He wasn’t in the least surprised to see her eyes light up as she picked it up.  Jane was, above all else, a woman of action rather than talk when it came right down to it, though when necessary, she was the better charmer and diplomat of the two of them.    

Taking the pass, she fiddled with it for a moment then poked her husband in the chest with the corner, effectively giving it back to him.  He took it without question, but she noted the look of surprise in his eyes.  “Perfect,” she told him with a smile before rising to her feet.  “Now we have one for each group.”  Which would make things easier for what she had planned next.  “Williams, I want you, Liara, and Alenko with me for now.  John, Garrus and Tali are back on the _Normandy_ finishing up some last checks on that new equipment we got.  If you would collect it and them and meet us at the garage we’ll see about getting this show on the road again.  Wrex …?”

All eyes turned upon the krogan who had not been there a moment ago, but was now standing front and center as if he’d been there the entire time.  How he had arrived so quietly had Ash frowning.  Still, she supposed that given the noise level in the room, a thresher maw could break through the center of the dance floor and no one would notice until it was too late.  It was a sobering thought.   

“Shepard.”

Jane’s head tilted just slightly to the right as she turned to face the krogan.  “You’re with me,” she told him.  A little added muscle would not be a bad thing right now as she suspected they might meet a bit of resistance at the garage, even with the pass in hand.  Though word of Wrex’s encounter with another krogan mercenary had filtered down to her in a passing comment from Parasini, Jane doubted that most people in Port Hanshan would have heard about it.  Then again, having a krogan on their six was always a good option, just so long as said krogan was on their side.  She side eyed Wrex again who responded with one of his customary chuckles, almost as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.  Ah well.  “Any questions?” she asked the others.

There were none, and they all exited the lounge together via the elevator.  As John broke off on the main level to go round up the rest of their team, Jane turned to Wrex.  “Just ‘something to check into?’” she asked mildly, echoing Alenko word for word from their earlier conversation.

The rumble escaping his chest this time was deep if less than reassuring and could be felt through the floor.  “No one can outrun a krogan with old scores to settle.”

Jane held the krogan’s gaze for one long minute, silently wondering which of the two krogan involved had been the one with the scores requiring settlement.  In the end, however, she let it pass.  Did it even matter?  Wrex was here, that was all that counted.  

Their entry into the garage was surprisingly easy, when all said and done.  Leaving the guard with instructions that the rest of her team would be along shortly, she led the way inside.  That was the easy part.  It was what followed that made things a whole hell of a lot more complicated.  

Jane stepped into the garage and was in the process of explaining to a second security agent there that she required transportation to get them to Peak 15 when Williams’ shout of alarm set the hair on the back of her neck immediately on edge.  Reaching for her shotgun out of instinct, her eyes were drawn like a moth to flame to a movement on the far side of the room.  “Shit - Geth!” she called back.  Darting to her left, Jane dove to avoid a shot and take cover behind the back end of an M29 Grizzly.  She nearly got squashed a moment later when Williams threw herself in beside Jane after taking a couple of shots.  

“What the hell, Commander?!”

Jane couldn’t stop from laughing, even as she carefully rose to her feet and looked around the end of the machine they were using for cover.  “Pretty much sums it up where the Geth are concerned, I think, Chief.”

Williams responded with a disgruntled snort even as she moved to the other side of the vehicle and peered around the edge.  “Two destroyers, Commander,” she called over as she lifted her assault rifle and fired a burst in their direction.

“I see them,” Jane confirmed.  To her right, finding protection behind a group of storage crates, she found Liara busily using her biotics against their opponents while the two other security guards used their weapons.  Wrex, being Wrex, was barrelling his way into the thick of the fighting and giving a Geth Stalker what for.  Alenko, she noted, appeared to be messing with his omni-tool.  His eyes lifted a moment later and met hers briefly.  His eyes were dark with intensity, completely focused, but she saw the corner of his lips curve upwards just a fraction of an inch.  Taking this to mean he had some sort of plan, she nodded in return.  Only then did she turn her attention back to the battle before them.

With her gaze focused on the enemy, Williams’ and Wrex’s battle cries echoing oddly throughout the room, it wasn’t long before Jane realized what Alenko had done.  Like most Alliance soldiers who had gone through the Sentinel track in basic, herself included, Alenko had been given additional training in technological attacks.  Mostly this focused on hacking and other more defensive tactics, but there had been some offensive ones as well.  Overload was, by far and large, the most popular of these.  But what she faced now - or, rather, what the Geth faced - was no simple Overload.  The sheer scope and power behind the attack indicated that from the outset.  And while she could not quite identify what exactly Alenko had done, Jane made a mental note to find out later.  Whatever it was, it managed to either take out weakened Geth systems or bring down the shields of the rest so the others could take them out.  Within minutes, all that was left were smoking remains.

“What the hell was _that_?!” one of the security guards asked, eyes wide and a shocked expression crossing her features.

Sighing, Jane clipped her shotgun back to her waist.  “Those,” she announced in a dry tone, “were Geth.”

Her male companion wore a similar expression as he tried to speak.  “But … the Geth?  They … why … where …?”

When the door to the garage opened, as a group they all turned, those whose weapons had not been replaced, lining up their shots.  Jane moved quickly, reaching out to push the muzzles up and away from John and the rest of the crew.  “These are the good guys, I promise.  The bad guys came from the other direction,” she reminded them before crossing over to speak with John.

Williams, shaking off the bewilderment at what had happened over the past twenty minutes, turned towards the guards.  “Guessing these are the Geth who arrived with Matriarch Benezia,” she said.  “Any idea how many she might have brought through?”  Going into a battle with the numbers in mind, even a rough guess, was better than the alternative.

The female guard blinked.  “I -- I have no idea,” she managed after a moment’s thought.  “They brought a ton of shipping crates with them that could have housed those things.”

“A guess?” Alenko asked next.  “Look, anything you can give us that we can use to even get a rough estimate will help against these things.”

She shook her head.  “Dozens at the very least,” she finally replied.  “Maybe more.”  She shivered, but not from the cold.  “God.  They went up there days ago,” she added.  “Before the storm blew in.  Who knows how many they could have left along the way to stop you.”

“Great,” Williams muttered.  Wrex began chuckling, an unnerving sound after all that had just happened.  Dr. T’Soni remained silent.

“We need transportation.”  Jane’s voice rang out as she and John walked over.  Tali and Garrus hurried over to do a brief examination of the Geth remains.  “At the very least, this proves we _have_ get to Peak 15 now.”

“Um … the Mako,” the male guard told them, pointing in the direction the Geth had entered from.  “It’s all we’ve got at the moment.”

Jane glanced up at her husband.  “Think we can all fit?” she asked.

John chuckled.  “Depends who’s driving, I’d say,” he replied.

Jane grinned back at him, mouth opening to reply, but before she could a series of protests came from the others.  Rolling her eyes, she muttered, “And here I was going to suggest Williams.”

Ash didn’t wait for the Commander to change her mind, darting across the room barely before the words had been spoken while shouting out a whoop of victory.  The rest of the group followed after her, John falling into step beside his wife and murmuring, “That was your plan?”

Jane grinned up at him.  “Chances are it’ll leave space in the back,” she reasoned.  “Alenko will navigate.  Wrex will, no doubt, man the cannon.  Tali and Garrus will likely argue over the technical condition of the vehicle.  And Liara has enough weighing on her at the moment.”  Jane’s eyes drifted to their still quiet and somewhat subdued asari companion.

“Her mother’s presence may prove to be too much of a distraction for her,” John commented.  “Especially the closer we get to finding Benezia.”

Jane frowned.  “Maybe,” she replied just before ducking through the door to the Mako.  Her eyes found his and a knowing look passed between them.  “But my bets are on her finding a way through.  She’s stronger than she lets on.”

Chuckling, John followed her inside, sealing the door behind him.  “Not unlike someone else I know,” he pointed out as he took his seat.

Jane sighed as she fell into her seat and strapped in.  “How did I just _know_ you were going to take it there?” she asked.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the First human Spectre gets some heavy duty thinky thoughts while having to deal with an upset krogan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter took on a completely different level of importance from the moment I began working the conversation with the rachni queen in. It's something that I've been thinking about since the very first time I played Mass Effect and got to this point in the game. That it finally came to a head here, with Jane, is interesting, but I can see how it might. I wasn't quite expecting so many thinky thoughts from the First Human Spectre, even if most of them don't get down in this chapter, but oh well, what can you do? She's stubborn and will have her way, right?

 

Jane pulled the others off to the side of the entry way into the Secure Lab and opened the link to John’s comm.  “How’s it going down there?” she asked quietly.  While no one was nearby at the moment, she had no idea just how close Benezia, the geth, or anyone else was to their current location.

 _“Things are a little … hot,”_ came the staticky reply.   _“You found Benezia yet?”_

Jane’s eyes drifted over to Liara.  The asari had been silent as they fought their way through security guards from the mess hall, but she’d fought.  That was something.  “We’re about to enter the Secure Lab.”

_“Got it.  We’ll head your way when we’re done here.”_

“John,” Jane warned as her eyes traveled to the rest of her squad, weapons raised and aimed back the direction they had come, just in case, “be careful backtracking through the mess hall.  They caught onto us too quickly - you’ll likely have a reception committee waiting for you.”

_“Acknowledged.  Good luck.”_

Tabbing off her comm, Jane nodded at the others.  She’d brought Liara, Alenko, and Wrex with her on the premise that if they were going up against an asari matriarch who not only had geth at her disposal but asari commandos, they might as well face biotics with biotics.  Everyone else had accompanied John down to the Hot Labs.  “Ready?” she asked quietly.  Wrex responded with a head bob and his usual grunt.  Alenko nodded.  Liara ….  

Taking a step towards the asari, Jane asked softly but with a hint of urgency, “Liara, you still with us?”

Liara blinked, her eyes returning to focus on the Commander.  “Yes, Commander,” she replied after a moment.  “I’m … I’m fine.”

Jane nodded, offering a reassuring smile.  “No matter what we find on the other side of that door -”

Liara swallowed tightly, but bobbed her head up and down.  “Yes, I understand,” she replied immediately.  She took a deep breath before adding, “Whatever my mother used to be, her recent actions prove she is not the person I once thought she was.”

Jane adjusted her grasp on her shotgun and moved forward.  “Alright, let’s go.  Everyone, be ready.”

Of course later, when looking back on it, Jane would realize that there was no way to really ‘be ready’ for what they encountered inside the lab.

The combat that followed took a while to work through, biotics notwithstanding.  Not only was it the first time Jane had ever encountered asari commandos in combat, but their biotic tactics and abilities as well.  As such, it took a while to get a working grasp on what tactics worked and what didn’t.  The geth, while challenging, were more of a known factor thanks to recent encounters.  Between her and Alenko, they were able to minimize the most severe threats with their tech attacks.  By the time they approached the matriarch, weakened and alone on an upper level, Jane had lost all sense of the passage of time, but not the sense of urgency that had struck her since their arrival at Peak 15.

Of course, she wasn’t really surprised by Benezia’s warnings against indoctrination or that Saren already had the information he needed from the rachni in order to move ahead with his mission.  Time, like always, was running against her and her team.  

And then there was the whole new twist on things ….

“What the hell is that thing?”  Alenko, kneeling beside the matriarch’s now lifeless body, gestured towards the tank nearby.  The creature inside it skittered and moved slightly, but otherwise remained as it was.

The krogan responded immediately and with a menacing stomp in its direction, growling, “Rachni!”  

Jane threw an arm out to halt Wrex’s progress, a move that resulted in a darkening glare from the krogan but he stopped at least.  Kneeling beside Alenko, she focused on the younger asari between them, now displaying obvious signs of grief.  “Liara?”

“Why, mother?” Liara whispered painfully, her arms wrapped tight around the woman who’d raised her.  “Why?”

Jane’s gaze drifted over Benezia’s now still form.  There had been one brief moment when the ‘real’ Benezia peered out from an otherwise indoctrinated personality.  It was then that she explained what was happening, provided more details about what Saren was up to, what he was after, who was controlling him.  She’d also given some insight into why she’d joined the cause.  But none of that appeared to have registered with Liara.  Jane, having lost her own mother when she was young and vulnerable, could understand that to a point, but other priorities had to come first right now or they would soon find themselves in trouble.  “Liara?”

“I … I’m sorry, Commander,” Liara whispered, releasing hold on her mother and standing.  “I know this isn’t the time, but -”  Her eyes lifted, meeting Jane’s for a moment and then shifting as if seeing beyond her. ….

“Commander!”

Alenko’s sharp warning mixed with the gasp of surprise and shock from Liara had Jane spinning around on her heel, her weapon rising on instinct.  But where she expected to find an enemy approaching, instead she found … a walking corpse?  “What the hell …?”  The body of the asari commando stumbled slowly across the platform, finally coming to a halt next to the tank.  

“Who are you?” Jane demanded in an authoritative tone.  “What do you want?”

“This one serves as our voice,” came the halting and slightly disembodied reply.  “We cannot sing in these low places.  Your musics are colorless.”

Jane blinked.   _Musics?_  She darted a quick look over at Alenko, but he looked as confused as she felt and just shrugged slightly, though she did see him stand up, weapon at the ready, and moved a few steps closer to her.  Turning her attention back to the asari and the rachni behind her, she countered, “How can you even be alive?  We had you down … dead!”

“This body is but a vessel,” the voice responded.  “It is at the edge, but will convey our thoughts.”

It took a moment for that to process, and distraction from the restless stomping of Wrex didn’t help Jane’s focus, but she finally thought she grasped the concept.  “You ….”  Her eyes met the rachni queen’s.  “It’s _you_ speaking?  Through the asari’s body?”

“Yes.”

“Shepard …!”  

Jane ignored the warning in Wrex’s tone, her focus entirely upon the queen.  “We are the mother.  We sing for those left behind.  For the children you thought silenced.  We are rachni,” she confirmed.

Jane’s eyes drifted between the queen and the commando.  It was on the tip of her tongue to ask more about the method the queen was using to communicate, but they really didn’t have the time for that just now.  The queen, however, either guessed or had some unknown way to determine Jane’s thought processes.  “Our kind sing through the touches of thought.  We pluck the strings and the other understands.  She is weak to urging.”

“Weak to urging?” Jane echoed.

“Being indoctrinated by Sovereign probably doesn’t help either,” Alenko added.  Jane glanced over at him, noted that Liara had joined him and she was nodding her agreement.

“You’re probably right,” Jane replied.  

“She has colors we have no names for but her time is ending.  Her music is bittersweet.  It is beautiful.”

Jane turned back to face the rachni.  “Tell me what they did to you,” she said.  It wasn’t too difficult to guess, but she wanted as much information to back up her assessment as possible.  

“The children we birthed were stolen from us,” the queen intoned.  Jane ignored the gasp from behind her - Alenko or Liara, she wasn’t certain, but it echoed her own thoughts that she quashed a lid down on tightly.  Children were a touchy issue for her, seeing as how she and John were having trouble conceiving their own, plus the whole military job aspect to things.  “Taken before they could learn to sing.  They are lost to the silence.”

“The Hot Labs,” Wrex rumbled.  Jane nodded.

“End their suffering.  They cannot be saved.  They will only cause harm as they are.”

“Why are they doing this?” Jane asked.  “Only because they were stolen from you?”

The asari commando twitched slightly, as if struggling, but continued to voice the rachni’s thoughts.  “These needle-men sought to turn our children into beasts of war.  Claws with no songs of their own.  Our elders are comfortable with silence.  Our children know only fear if no one sings to them.  Fear has shattered their minds,” she explained.

“Makes sense.  A baby left alone in a closet until he’s sixteen won’t be sane,” Alenko murmured in agreement.

Jane cringed inwardly at that comparison, but he was right.  

“It is lamentable, but necessary,” the queen finished.  Then, “What will you sing?  Will you release us?  Are we to fade away once more?”

“There are acid tanks rigged up on that thing,” Wrex announced.  “Set them off.  Millions of my ancestors died to put these things down.  Don’t let them come back.”

Jane froze, coldness creeping along her spine as the realization of what now lay in front of her became fully apparent.

“Commander,” Alenko said quickly, before Jane could consider the krogan’s suggestion, “There’s some old grudges in the galaxy.  Grudges humans should stay out of.  If we kill her, we kill the entire race.  This isn’t our call to make.”

Surprisingly, the rachni queen spoke again.  “Your companions hear the truth.  You have the power to silence us or return our people to the silence of memory.”

 _No pressure_ , she thought mildly while she took a step away from them all and crossed the platform to stare out over the edge for a moment and collect herself.  

_Death.  So much death.  Sarah McIntyre died years ago leaving behind her daughter.  Matriarch Benezia died a few minutes ago, doing the same.  And now, the rachni.  An entire race that can be exterminated completely or given a second chance at life, all because of one mother.  What is that old quote?  “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”  Why must it always be death?  Why not life?_

She broke the silence as she straightened and pointed out quietly, “You are wrong, Alenko.  The Council appointed me Spectre and by doing so gave me the power to make those decisions on their behalf.  This _is_ my call.”  

She needed a few more minutes to make certain her decision was the right one … what better way than to ask a few more questions?  “What will you do if I allow you to leave?” she asked the queen.  “Would you attack other races again?  Go to war?  Like before?”  Wrex did have a valid concern, after all.

“No,” the queen insisted.  “We - I do not know what happened in that war.  We only heard discordance, songs that were the color of oily shadows.  We will seek a hidden place where we can teach our children harmony.”

“Are you a survivor of the war?” Jane asked.  “Or a clone?”

“We do not know.  We were only an egg, hearing Mother cry in our dreams.  A tone from space hushed one voice after another.  It forced the singers to resonate with its own sour yellow note.  Then we awoke in this place.  The last echo of those who came out from the Singing Planet.  The sky is silent.”

Taking a deep breath, Jane found that she had all the information she needed.  “No,” she finally murmured, turning back to the group and facing Wrex.  “I won’t destroy your entire race.”

“Are you stupid?” Wrex demanded.  “Your people didn’t fight these bastards, so maybe you just don’t get it!”

Spine stiffening, Jane stared the krogan down.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alenko shift his position, his weapon raising in her defense, but she waved him off quickly in an attempt to keep this situation from escalating out of control and into something much, much worse than it already was.  “Are we any better if we do the same thing and kill them all?” she countered.

Their eyes met - anger flaring from his, an unexpected calm from hers - and held for one long moment.  “Fine,” Wrex finally said, backing down first.  “Do what you want.  My people will clean this up later.  Just like we did for the salarians.”

“You will give our people a chance to compose anew?”  Jane turned, eyes finding the queen as she recognized the hope in her tone.  “We will remember.  We will sing of your forgiveness to our children.”

“Great,” Wrex muttered beneath his breath.  “Bugs are writing songs about you.  Mark my words, Shepard.  You’ll regret this.”

Jane ignored him, instead focusing her attention fully on the rachni queen as she released the asari commando.  They stared at one another for a long moment, before finally the queen turned and exited the tank, leaving through a door on the far side of the labs.  Jane watched her departure in silence, only pulling her attention away when she felt someone step up beside her.  “Are you sure about this, ma’am?”

Jane sighed and looked over at the Alenko.  “As sure as I can be about anything, Lieutenant,” she told him.  

A loud growling bellow followed by a shotgun blast and some crashing crates alerted Jane to the krogan’s continued state of mind.  Inwardly, she winced, hoping that Wrex would keep his cool just enough he wouldn’t turn all that anger on her or the others.  In the past, he had seemed to have a line he could draw, stopping short of doing anything that she found completely unacceptable, but even Jane knew lines were made to be crossed at times.  And from the little she knew about the history of the krogan and the rachni, she suspected Wrex had good reason to cross it.  “She made a promise,” Jane stated plainly, her voice lifting loud enough so Wrex could hear her, “and I took her at her word.”

There was a long, drawn out pause.  “It’ll be your head, Shepard,” the krogan shouted, “if she doesn’t keep it.”

 _Don’t I know it_.  Jane met Alenko’s concerned gaze.  “It was the right thing to do,” she insisted, firmly.  

Alenko nodded.  He wouldn’t argue that point - he’d been in support of saving the queen, after all.  It was the stepping into the middle of galactic level decision making that bothered him more.  “As you say, Commander.”  

Jane watched as he backed up a step and turned away, focusing his attention on Liara now, but not before his eyes lingered on hers a minute more.  Jane couldn’t help but wonder if he was morally censuring her for what she’d done, despite the fact that she did indeed have the authority to do so.  His words had been neutral enough.  And she knew from what John had told her about him that he would never openly contradict his commanding officer while on a mission unless the mission objective was in danger of being violated.  And from what she could tell, he didn’t appear to think that was the case here ….

A loud boom off in the distance was barely audible as the sound waves pulsed through the station, but the tremors that followed behind it were more than enough to indicate that something had happened somewhere.  “Let’s get out of here!” Jane called out to Wrex who had worked his way around the lab to the far side, examining the bodies of their previous opponents.  As she led the way to the exit, she reached over and flipped on her comm.  “John?  What the hell was that?”

 _“I’ll explain later,”_ was the scratchy reply after a moment.  

“You okay down there?”

_“Heading back to the tram station.  Suggest you meet us there ASAP.”_

“Roger that.”  Jane sent Alenko on first, Liara following him, and after another moment, the lumbering form of Wrex caught up and followed the asari.  When they exited the room, Alenko called back, “I’m picking up a spike in radiation levels, Commander.  Like, off the charts.”

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” she muttered, moving to the front and leading the way back to the upper level of the station before making the turn that would lead them to the tram departure platform.  “John’ll have answers, I’m sure, but we don’t need to be caught up in it.”

Their return to the main level and the mess hall was met by … emptiness.  There were some bodies lying around the area, Ventralis and his guards it seemed, so Jane assumed that John and his team had made it through.  

“Levels still climbing, Commander,” Alenko informed her.  “We’re good for now, but ….”  

Thankfully, they weren’t too far from the tram station now.  “Come on,” she called back.  She waited for the others to go on ahead of her, scanning the room one last time before closing the door and sealing it behind her.  She’d had more than enough of Peak 15 to last her a lifetime.

Their arrival in the departure platform was greeted by a shout and Jane saw John in the distance, standing near the tram and waving at them to hurry.  “Double time, folks,” she told her squad.  “Move it!”  They hopped onto the tram a moment later and the doors slid shut, the vehicle moving practically before they’d even closed.  Catching her breath, Jane looked over at her husband and asked, “What the hell happened?”

“Neutron purge,” he replied.  “Killed off all the rachni in the labs.”

“Keelah,” Tali breathed from her position seated over to the side where it looked as if she was working on her suit, “they were _awful_!”

“We got them,” John told her.  “ _ALL_ of them.”

“Not all,” Wrex grumbled.  “The Commander let the queen go free.”

Several gasps echoed around them and more than one pair of eyes locked onto her, but the only ones she felt the need to face off against were John’s.  “Are you kidding me?” he breathed.  “After what we saw in there?”

“It was the right thing to do,” Jane insisted.  Her eyes darkened, hardening as she looked up at her husband.  “They stole her children from her, John.  They raised them without the normal nurturing and interaction that the rachni use.  That’s why they were out of control.  They’d been broken.”

His brows dived into a V-shape frown.  “She told you this?”

Jane nodded.  “And other things,” she added.  “She isn’t a threat.”

“You don’t know that!”  The tram shook in response to Wrex’s bellow.

Fed up with having to defend herself, Jane turned on the krogan, staring him down with a hard look.  “I believe her!” she shouted in return, refusing to back away even as he began stalking towards her.  The others moved out of the way, making space, but Jane refused to budge.  “I will not go around destroying an entire species based on the prejudices of -”

“Prejudices?” he countered.  “The krogan fought the rachni and brought them to their knees during the rachni Wars!  We were the only ones who -”

“Back off, Wrex!”  Jane did not raise her voice, but the threat was still there, and she was beginning to take on the blue aura associated with biotic attacks.  Wrex followed suit, but he stopped yelling.  “The decision was mine, as Council Spectre.  If you have a problem with that, take it to the Council, but I was well within my rights to make that call!  The queen meant no harm - she was being held there against her will, in case that slipped your mind!”

The tram slid to a halt and the doors opened wide.  After another long moment spent staring the other down, Wrex finally backed off and turned to exit the vehicle, stomping his way out onto the platform.  Jane stood frozen for a long moment, barely noting the sound of the others following after the krogan.  She only moved when she felt a strong hand at her shoulder.  “You okay?”

A ripple moved across her shoulders, but it was enough to break her free and Jane took a deep breath before turning to face John.  “Let’s get the hell out of here,” she told him.

“Yeah,” he agreed, remaining beside her as they walked.  Just before they reached the Mako, he glanced down at her.  “How are you going to explain this to the Council?” he asked.  “You _know_ they’re not going to like it.”

Sighing, Jane considered her options.  “Maybe I just won’t call them,” she muttered, following John inside of the vehicle.  “They can wait and hear it when I get back.”  This time, he took the driver’s seat and she slipped behind navigation.  The others, it seemed, weren’t prepared to argue.  

 


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long delay! I needed to work out some things for Jane and John in their background before I could move on with this chapter! THAT will be a separate story, due out shortly (it's in the beta/editing stages as we speak), but now that I know what happens, I was able to get this finished! Enjoy!

 

Jane exited her cabin to the half-lit crew deck that was common to the ‘night’ shift.  Presumably, it was to make it easier for the crew resting in sleeper pods, though there were controls on each individual unit to regulate that, too.  It gave the impression that night had fallen, and illusion was half the battle to falling asleep and resting well, so it was said.  As far as Jane was concerned, it meant moving more carefully to keep from tripping over anything.  Careful equated to slower in this case, and it left Jane feeling antsy.  Still, she managed to duck into the galley and retrieve a cup of tea before heading upstairs to the CIC and the bridge to check in.  

“Feeling better?”

Jane paused in her steps, turning to sidle up beside John at the side of the galaxy map.  Though his back was currently to her as he messed with one of the computer consoles, she knew he was quite aware of his surroundings and of her presence.  Taking a sip of her tea, she replied, “Anytime I can escape complete annihilation on a mission I always feel better.”  His head turned, his eyes darting up to hers with some concern in them, but she smirked softly.  Her sense of humor could be dark at times, especially when stress levels increased.  She knew from experience that this worried him, but this time she could see that concern fade quickly as he recognized that she was, more or less, okay.  

“True,” he countered as he straightened and faced her.  “Then again, facing down an angry krogan is nearly as dangerous.”

Jane’s eyes closed for a moment and she sighed.  “Yeah.  I need to see about fixing that,” she admitted.

“Maybe you should give Wrex some time to cool off?” he cautioned almost immediately.  “If you approach him too soon, you might just set him off again.”

Jane rolled her shoulders and listened to the soft pops emitted from loosening joints.  “I’ll be careful,” she promised, “and he knows better than to punch a hole in my ship.  So, how’re things up here?”

After hesitating a moment longer, his gaze practically boring into her soul, Jane watched him turn back to the job at hand.  “Actually, I’m glad you stopped by,” he replied, fingers scurrying across the keys quickly and pulling up a screen.  “Retrieved this log entry during our time on Noveria and I’ve just managed to get it decrypted.”  Lifting a finger, he used it as a pointer as he spoke.  “Looks like the transmission was intercepted by Security on Noveria and never passed along after that.”

Jane’s lips pursed.  “Wonder if Stirling was behind that, too,” she muttered.

John glanced over at her.  “What was that?”

Jane shook her head.  “I’ll explain later.  What does the message say?”

Content with that response, John continued with his briefing.  “It references some unspecified secret mission involving several Alliance scientists.  It’s a little vague, but it seems as if they are being targeted.  Someone is hunting them down and killing them, one by one; why exactly is still unknown.”

Jane blinked.  “Alliance scientists are being murdered?” she repeated.  “I wonder why Admiral Hackett hasn’t said anything to us?”

John shrugged.  “Maybe he has someone else working on it?  I’ve tried to get some background, but from what I’ve found so far all I can tell you is that only scientists associated with  _ that _ particular mission are being taken out.  It’s the only common thread between them.  The message indicates there’s still one remaining scientist and he’s here -”  A miniature version of the galaxy map popped up on the display screen.  “In the Kepler Verge on a planet in the Newton System, but that was at the time the message was sent.”

Jane straightened and took another sip of her tea as she considered.  “Can you tell where the message originated?”

“I tried tracing it back, but no go,” he told her.  “It  _ was _ directed to the doctor, however.  It’s a warning that his location is no longer secure and he needs to leave.”  John straightened then and faced her.  “He never got the warning --”

“Because Noveria security intercepted it.  Shit!”  Sighing, Jane considered their options.  “How close are we to the Citadel?”  She needed to update the Council regarding Noveria, but that would take some time and this required immediate attention.  

“We’re about an hour out from the Exodus Cluster relay,” he informed her.  

Jane considered the possibilities for all of about three seconds.  “Okay, have Joker turn us towards the Kepler Verge via the Hades Gamma and Attican Beta relays.  We’ll go take care of this first then report to the Council.”  She sighed again and rubbed a hand at the back of her neck. “You’d better inform Hackett of the message, too,” she added.  “Just in case he wasn’t aware.”

John nodded.  “Consider it done,” he promised.

Jane was just turning away from him and was about to head up to the communications section when a movement to her right caught her eye and she spotted Dr. Chakwas entering the CIC.  Though not unusual - Jane suspected that the good doctor had a secret interest in the inner workings of the  _ Normandy _ , or at least how those affected the crew as a whole - the doctor’s composure was off just enough to set Jane’s senses on alert.  “Hello, doctor,” she greeted the woman with a smile.  “I wasn’t expecting to see you up here this late.  Something I can help with?”

“Actually, Commander,” the doctor replied with what almost appeared to be relief, “I was hoping I might be able to take a moment of your time.”

Jane’s senses kicked into full alert now for no explicable reason other than the intensity in the doctor’s eyes.  “Of course.  What’s up?”

They began walking back down towards the crew deck, which made sense, Jane supposed, since the doctor’s office was down there.  Still, it wasn’t until they’d reached the lower level that Karin turned and began to explain.  “I was wondering if you might consider speaking with Liara, Shepard,” she said.  “I am rather concerned with her state of mind at the moment.”

Jane blinked.  She’d intended to talk with the asari in a little while, but the doctor’s concern now had her wondering if something specific occurred of which she wasn’t aware.  “Did something happen?”

“No, actually, and that is the problem.”  

Jane blinked again, confused.  “Okay, doc, you’re going to need to help me out here.”

Karin nodded, her grey bob bouncing lightly around her face.  “Let me put it this way, Commander,” she said quietly.  “And I do apologize if this brings up any bad memories for you, but it is the only way in which I can think to help you understand.  When you were younger, how exactly did you react when you found out about your mother’s death?”

Despite the doctor’s warning and years in which she had come to terms with her mother’s death, Jane felt the question hit her like a solid punch to the gut.  Memories of the cabin she and her mother shared on board the ship … the arrival of the Captain, the ship’s doctor, and John and his parents … the announcement that her mother had made the ultimate sacrifice to help save the few people that were rescued from Mindoir … Anger.  Devastation.  Disbelief.  Her heart racing, ears pounding, the difficulty in breathing as her world tumbled around her ….

“Commander?”

Jane inhaled sharply, an ache in her chest the only physical reaction to the memories.  “I’m … I’m good,” she rasped.  Jane straightened, rolled her shoulders, her head shaking back and forth for a moment.  “I should have spoken to her sooner,” she said.

“Actually, Commander, I’m not sure that you could have.  Since your return from Noveria, Liara has closed herself away in her room.  I have tried several times to reach out to her, but each time she has refused.  Politely, of course.  I have not heard anything from her -- not a peep, no crying or screaming, not even anything being thrown against the wall -- since your return.  My concern is that she is bottling it up,” the doctor concluded, “and that is not a healthy reaction to something as traumatic as losing a mother as she has.”

Jane nodded, but a thought occurred to her.  “When she first came aboard, Liara said that she had not spoken to her mother in fifty years.  Is it possible that they just were not that close?”

Chakwas shook her head.  “I have spoken with her several times regarding her past - usual types of questions a doctor might ask that lead to other discussions along the way.  I have no medical background on her, and I thought to at least come up with some basic records should she require any attention while aboard.  My understanding was that they were very close.”

“Okay, doctor, I will go talk with her,” Jane promised.  “Is she in her office now?”

The doctor nodded.  “Thank you, Commander.  I hope you can reach out to her where I could not.”

During the short walk to through the mess hall and the medical bay, Jane hoped the same thing.

Knocking on the door, Jane called out, “Liara?  Might I come in?”

The silence lasted long enough that Jane had to wonder if Liara was even still in the room, but just as she considered turning away, she heard the locks on the door disengage.  Taking that as acceptance of her visit, she entered to find the room dimly lit.  On the far side of the room, seated with her back facing the door, Jane found the asari.  Though it was difficult to determine exactly in the shadows, it appeared as if her shoulders were slumped and her elbows might be resting on the desk surface.  

“If you are here about the events that happened on Noveria, Commander,” the asari said in a quiet voice, “I have no wish to discuss it.”

Slowly, Jane moved further into the room, finally opting to take a seat on a cleared section of the long desk against the wall.  Drawing one knee up, she wrapped her arms around her folded leg and rested her chin on top of her knee.  “Fair enough,” she replied simply.  “I was the same way for a long time after my mother died.”

There was a moment of absolute silence broken only by the sound of fabric brushing against the chair and the soft creak as Liara turned in it.  Jane regarded her closely, her eyes now more adjusted to the dimness, and she could see the telltale signs of tear tracks trailing down Liara’s cheeks.  “You … you lost your mother?”

Jane nodded, and though the ache still poked and prodded in the region surrounding her heart, she persevered.  She thought it might be just the bridge necessary to reach out to Liara.  “I was sixteen,” she told her.  “My father died nearly a decade before that, so we’d been on our own for a while.  We were on board the  _ SSV Einstein _ .  Mom and her squad of marines were sent groundside when the call for help came from Mindoir.”

Jane kept her eyes on Liara.  It didn’t surprise her at all when Liara’s eyes widened in recognition.  Mindoir and the events that occurred there were known across the galaxy.  Adjusting her position, Jane crossed her legs and straightened her back against the wall behind her.  She started speaking softly after a moment.  “We were in the middle of making dinner when she was called to duty.  Pizza -- from scratch, even.  I had flour all over my hair and she had a splash of sauce on her nose.”  Jane paused a moment to let the tightness in the back of her throat pass.  “To this day, the blaring of a ship’s alarm still sets me on edge.”

Liara dropped into the chair behind her, but she kept her eyes trained upon Jane.  “The last time I saw my mother,” she whispered, “we argued.  I -- I don’t even remember the reason, now.”

Jane nodded.  “I was sixteen,” she admitted, “and when the alarm came, I was angry.  Mom had promised for months we’d do something fun -- just the two of us -- and finally we were.”  Sighing, Jane shook her head back and forth a couple of times.  “I yelled at her.”  Her laugh was harsh.  “Shouted, more like.  I was  _ so _ angry!  She … she promised to make it up to me later, but I wasn’t listening.”  

Jane’s eyes closed for a moment, just enough pressure to set the small trickle of tears leaking out the corner of her right eye.  Taking a deep, steadying breath, she continued, “I told her I hated that the Alliance was more important to her than her daughter was.”

Her eyes opened slowly, but she forced them wide and glanced back at the asari.  “For weeks, years even, my dreams were of that moment.  Of the look of sorrow on her face as she walked out that door.  Of the anger that boiled up in me when that alarm sounded.”  Sighing yet again, she took a long minute to stretch her back and sit up straight.  “Afterwards, I was sent to live with my grandmother -- my father’s mother.  I didn’t know her well, hadn’t seen her in years, but she was the only family I had left.  She tried to do right by me, but it was difficult to let her in close.  I was angry.  Furious at my mother for not coming back, hating myself for being so selfish and never having a chance to fix things with her.”

“And now?”

Jane’s head tilted and she offered a small smile.  “Things on Earth didn’t go as I’d hoped,” she admitted.  “My grandmother passed within six months, leaving me all alone.  Lost.”  She chuckled dryly.  “I scared John.  He came looking for me.  Helped me get out of a bad situation.  By the end of it all, we both were enlisted in the Alliance.  I never really had time to think about Mom and how things ended for us until well after I’d passed through bootcamp and OCS.  At some point -- I’m not quite sure when -- I guess I forgave her.  Later, I realized I needed to forgive myself.”  She shrugged.  “I can’t tell you when or how it happened, it just did.”

“Hmm.”  Liara propped her arm on the back of her chair and rested her head upon her hand.  “I suppose I will eventually find a way to do the same,” she mused quietly.  

Leaning forward, Jane told her, “It takes time, I won’t lie to you and say that it won’t.  It will also take some soul searching.  But somewhere along the way, even if I didn’t see it right in front of me, some part of me understood that the forgiveness had to happen.”  Sitting back up, Jane snorted softly.  “Hell, maybe it was John who convinced me.  He and his parents sort of pulled me into their orbit after all of it.  Kept me from spiraling out of control on my own like I almost did after my grandmother’s death.”

A smile twitched at the corner of Liara’s lips.  “Is that what you are offering me, Commander?” she asked.  “A way to keep from ‘spiraling out of control?’”

“If that is what you need, absolutely,” Jane replied immediately.  “If it isn’t, then no.  The choice is completely up to you.”

Silence fell for a couple of minutes, but it was a comfortable one all things considered.  It finally broke when Liara spoke again.  “I appreciate the offer, Commander,” she said in a soft tone, “and I will keep it in mind, but for now I think I will be alright.”

Jane smiled and nodded.  “Understood.  Just remember, my door is always open should you wish to talk.”

The smile widened.  “I may just take you up on that,” Liara said.  “My mother was a good person, once.”

Jane stood, her gaze still locked onto the asari after that comment.  “From the sounds of it,” she pointed out, “she was trying to do the right thing but got caught up in something larger than she could control.  If only in her intent, I’d say she still was a good person.”

Liara’s cheeks flushed a little.  “Thank you for saying so, Commander.  I doubt many would be so kind in their estimation of my mother’s last actions.”

“Which of the two is more important to you, Liara?” Jane challenged.  “Once you decide that, you may just be able to move forward.”

 

 

~ n ~

 

Jane exited the lift into the shuttle bay, her eyes immediately searching for her target.  The area was mostly empty, the only lighting coming from emergency lights that were always on and from Ashley’s work area.  Jane frowned, noting it was on, but did not move to touch it just in case Williams had left it for a reason.  She could ask her about it later.

Turning to her left, she started around the elevator shaft.  She was looking for Wrex and this was the only place he would or could be.  The krogan was rather predictable in that sense.  Unless his presence was specifically requested in some other area of the ship or a meal was being served in the mess, he could be found in the shuttle bay.  His section of that room was darker than the rest, even the emergency lighting had been dimmed somehow, but Jane still spotted him behind some of the shipping containers.  Taking a deep breath, she crossed over.  “Wrex.”

He was seated on the floor, arms and legs folded, head lowered to his chest, eyes closed.  Jane kept her eyes close on him, searching for some reaction, but he remained still.  Too still.  

“Fine, play it your way, but just think about this,” Jane told him as she leaned an elbow casually on the edge of one of the containers.  “If it ever comes down to it, who do you want on the krogan side?  Someone who is willing to destroy the last of their kind, or someone willing to give them a chance?”  

Without another word, Jane spun around on her heel and stalked back towards the lift.  Silently, she counted backwards from ten in her head.   _ Ten … nine … eight … seven … _ She pressed the button to call the lift back down.   _ Six … five … four … _  The doors slowly slid open and she leaned forward, her foot lifting from the floor.   _ Three … two …  _

“You know something I don’t, Shepard?” Wrex bellowed across the shuttle bay.

Jane managed to hide the smile she felt, reaching an arm out to hold the door open a moment longer.  Glancing over, she met his eyes across the room.  “It never hurts to have allies, Wrex.  That’s all I’m saying.”

Wrex sat silently for a minute longer, his gaze still locked onto hers.  Finally, he rumbled, “Point taken, Shepard.  Not fully accepted, but taken.”

“That’s all I can ask for now, Wrex,” she replied, stepping into the lift.  “Night!”  Once the doors were closed and the lift began to move, Jane allowed the silly grin slipping across her face full reign.  Tactics with krogans were unpredictable at the best of times.  Someone must’ve been watching out for her tonight.


	21. Chapter 21

Exhaustion claimed Jane almost before she reached her cabin.  The jarring halt of the lift roused her momentarily; just long enough to stumble out and into her cabin.  There, she paused long enough to remove her boots before she sprawled out across the bed and fell into a deep and blessedly dreamless sleep.  Only when the wafting aroma of strong, caffeinated tea -- two sugars, real cream -- tickled her nose did she begin crawling her way back to the present.  “John?”  The room was still dark, but she knew he was there.  Her tongue traveled across dry lips.  “Where are we?”

“Nearing the Kepler Verge,” his deep voice rumble replied from nearby.  She hazarded a guess he was sitting at the table in the middle of the room.  “Joker says we’ll be there within the hour.”

“Okay.”  Jane pushed herself up slowly, her nose pointing her more to the mug on the nightstand beside the clock than her eyes.  Wrapping her fingers around it, she took a careful sip while soaking up the warmth in her hands.  When she groaned contentedly, John’s chuckle of amusement reverberated around her like a warm blanket on a cold day.  Another sip helped clear her head further.  “Why the early wakeup call?”  Once they arrived in the Kepler Verge, it would still be a couple of hours to the Newton System and then on to Ontarom.

“Admiral Hackett wants to brief us,” John announced.  “Personally.”

Jane frowned.  She turned towards him, finally locating his silhouette at the table.  Rubbing her eyes with her free hand, she asked, “Why?”

“As you requested, I contacted him regarding the missing scientist message we found.  He said he’d check into it and get back to me if he found anything.”  John shrugged.  “I guess he did.”

“Okay.”  Jane gingerly rose to her feet, though it took a moment for her to find her balance.  She’d apparently slept harder than she thought.

It didn’t surprise her that, even in the dark, her husband noticed.  “You okay?”

The concern in his tone warmed her inside.  “Yeah, just could’ve used a few more hours.  You know how it is.”

“Jane, you’ve been out nearly twelve hours,” he felt obliged to point out.  “Maybe you should see Doctor Chakwas --”

“No.”  Setting the now half-empty mug aside, she stretched her arms up and over her head, sighing gratefully at each successful pop in her shoulders and along her spine.  “I’m fine, John.  Just knackered.”  He closed the distance between them and she tilted her head so their eyes could meet.  “Really, I’m fine.  I just …  I had to revisit some old, unpleasant memories when speaking with Liara, is all.  It was draining.”

He visibly relaxed at her words, his shoulders lowering a little.  “Ahh.”

Smiling, she leaned up and pressed a light kiss to his lips.  She wasn’t at all surprised when his arms tightened around her.  “I’m okay, I promise.  Now, when is Hackett calling in?  Do I have time to grab a shower and pull myself together?”

“We’ve got the better part of an hour,” he told her.  “He also suggested I allow Alenko in on the call.”

That caught her attention.  “Alenko?  Why?”

“I got the impression he thought some … technical abilities of the sneaky kind might be in order.”

Jane was halfway to reaching for her mug again when she paused and considered that announcement.  “That can’t bode well,” she replied.

“That’s all I know.”  He turned towards the door and crossed the room, flipping the light switch in the process.  “I’ll meet you up on the comm room when you’re ready,” he told her.

Jane nodded.  “Give me thirty and I’ll be there.”

 

~ n ~

 

With two minutes and fifteen seconds to spare, Jane entered the comm room.  

“Morning, Commander,” Alenko called from the computer terminal off to the right.  

Jane smiled around the edge of a mug of fresh tea in his direction.  “Morning, LT.  We ready at our end?”

“Yes, ma’am.  Admiral Hackett indicated he would initiate the call.  I’ve got everything ready I can think we might need.”  He gestured towards the console and his omnitool.  “Until then, we’re on standby.”

“Good.  Thanks.”  Turning, she walked over to John whose attention was currently focused on yet another technical readout.  “What’s up?”

“Hmm?  Oh.”  He took a step to his left so she could view the screen with him.  He’d linked their shared communications account to the terminal.  “Just a couple of messages.  The first is from Helena Blake.  She’s verified we should meet her at the coordinates she gave us.  Said she’d be there for the next week.”

Jane scanned the brief message.  “Okay, we can swing by there when we head back to the Citadel.  The other?”

“The other was directed to you specifically,” John said quietly.  “It’s from Admiral Kahoku and tagged high priority, so I didn’t open it.”

“Admiral Kahoku?” she echoed.  “I’m surprised he didn’t call me direct.”

“Personally, so am I given all that happened and what he was looking into,” John admitted.  

“Commanders?” Alenko’s voice rang out.  “Admiral Hackett is on the line.”

John and Jane both stepped over to the center of the room as the screen lit up and Admiral Hackett’s face appeared.  “Hello, Admiral.”

“Commanders.”  It always amused Jane a little when superior officers referred to her and John in the plural like that.  “John, I did some checking into that issue you brought to my attention.”

Jane blinked when she realized that Hackett was standing alone at his end of the connection.  While capable with technology, he like many superior officers tended to rely on specialists when using communications systems.  It made sense, giving them the chance to focus on the discussion and not the technology.  “And?” she asked, still slightly taken aback by the import of his move.

His eyes found hers.  “And this is why I requested you bring Lieutenant Alenko,” he replied.  “From what I hear, his experience hacking unfamiliar and complex systems is just about the best there is.”

Jane darted a quick look over at the Lieutenant whose eyes were downcast on the terminal in front of him and whose cheeks, even in the dim lighting of the room, appeared a little redder than usual.

“That’s kind of you to say, sir.”

Hackett chuckled.  “Son, you made it past security checks when you enlisted.  That’s good enough for me.  If you can put those skills of yours to use for us now --”

Alenko’s head lifted and he nodded.  “Understood, sir.  Just direct me and I’ll do what I can.”

The Admiral did just that, reading off an extranet address.  Dutifully, Alenko typed it into his terminal.  There was a long pause as he finished typing but waited to actually send the request.  “Uh, excuse me, sir?”

“It’s alright, Lieutenant,” the Admiral told him.

“But, sir … hacking into Alliance Command’s classified records database?  That will get me --”

“Son, I am your ‘get out of jail free’ card today,” the Admiral promised.  “Do it.”

Jane glanced back and up at her husband, eyes wide, and saw amazement there, too.  “Sir?”

“Commander, all I’ve been able to find out is that four Alliance scientists have been killed over the past month.  Beyond that, I haven’t found any information about them or details regarding their deaths.”  He paused for a moment, just long enough to take a deep breath.  “I have reason to suspect information is being withheld from me.  Information vital to this mission.  And,” he added, eyes narrowing into the stern look for which he was well known, “I will not send my best people on a mission without at least a general knowledge of what they will face.  Understood?”

Jane nodded immediately.  “Absolutely, sir.”  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alenko’s hands moving quickly and assuredly along the keyboard of his terminal.  She guessed his attempts to hack into the system had begun and wondered how long it would take him.  

“Sir,” John said, carefully weighing each word, “if you have the names of those scientists, we can do our own backtracking.  There is no sense in you risking --”

Hackett laughed.  “Commander, I’ve built my career on taking what I believe to be ‘necessary risks’.  This is nothing new.”

Jane frowned again.  It was clear to her the Admiral intended to do this no matter their protestations -- the similarities between his character and Anderson were striking at times.  It also dawned on her that even if he didn’t personally have the ability to hack into Alliance records himself, he surely had someone under his own command who could.  He was intelligent.  Had worked his way up the ranks to one of the highest in Alliance Command.  He, like Anderson, cultivated and kept the best and brightest around him for just these types of situations.   _ So, why us? _ she wondered.   _ He’s making a statement to someone, that much is clear, but why are we becoming a part of it? _  Jane could make an educated guess as to the ‘who’.  There were only so many people within Alliance Command who held a higher rank than the Admiral, and that he would do this didn’t really surprise her in the least.  But their involvement?  His going to bat for them, openly if it came to that?  Why?  What did they bring to the table that he needed to display for anyone else?

_ Hackett, Anderson and Udina were behind my being made Spectre _ , she recalled a moment later.   _ Could it have something to do with that?  Anderson hand-picked the crew for the  _ Normandy _ , essentially preparing the ship for me for my mission as Spectre.  Is there something going on that I’m not aware of yet?  Could that be why? _

“I’m in, sir,” the Lieutenant called out interrupting Jane’s thoughts.  She glanced over at him, catching his eye and nodding her approval.   _ We’re going to have to have a long discussion some day about this _ , she reminded herself.  After all, a hacker was only so good as the latest information, right?

“Good.  Do a search by date,” he read off a range of dates that Jane vaguely placed back around the time of the Skyllian Blitz, give or take a couple of years.  “Cross check these names,” he read off five, “with Alliance colonial interest, spec ops groups and deployed forces of the time.”

Alenko’s fingers moving against the keyboard was the only sound in the room for the next minute or so.  “Searching now, sir.”

“If this is what I believe it is,” he continued, “things are about to get complicated.  You  may need to use kid gloves for this mission, Commander.”

“Yes, sir,” Jane replied automatically.

“Done, sir.”  Alenko pressed a few more buttons.  “There’s only one file that comes up meeting those parameters.”

“Go ahead and link me to it, Lieutenant, and then open it at your end.”

“Yes, sir.”

To the side of the viewing screen, Jane watched as the information began to scroll up.  “There’s quite a bit of information redacted here, sir.”

“I see that, Commander, but look at what isn’t blacked out.  Classified project.  2177.  Akuze.  Each of these scientists is mentioned by name, including the one still alive: Dr. Wayne.”

“Wasn’t Akuze the site of a thresher maw attack?” John asked, hand rubbing at his chin as he thought.  “Troops were sent in to help colonization efforts there, as I recall.”

“Yes,” the Admiral concurred.  “We sent in a unit of fifty -- and none survived.   _ That _ is why it’s sealed.”  He was silent as he read further into the documents.  “They classified it a natural hazard, but the project dates are the same as the attacks.”

“Sir, that can’t be a coincidence,” Jane interjected.

“I agree, Commander.”  He took a step back from the screen.  “My gut tells me these scientists’ deaths are tied to this Akuze project, somehow.”

John nodded.  “I agree, but I’m not seeing how.”

“Alright.  Commander, let’s get this done with as minimal fuss possible.  Go in, see if this Dr. Wayne is still alive, then get him out.  Maybe he can shed some more light into what’s been going on,” Hackett ordered.

“And if he won’t come quietly or he’s dead?” Jane asked.

“If he won’t come, remind him who he works for.  If he’s dead, then we have an answer to his status and a death investigation to initiate.”  He paused.  “While you are doing that, I’m going to start my own investigation from this end of things.  Keep  me informed, Commanders.  Hackett, out.”

The view screen was barely dark when Jane heard Alenko sigh in relief and John chuckle.  “Too much stress for you, LT?” John asked.

Alenko shook his head.  “It’s not that,” he replied.  “It’s …”  His eyes darted between his two superior officers.  When he started speaking again, his tone was much quieter.  “When I was sixteen, I was identified as a biotic and shipped off to Biotic Acclimation and Temperance training, BAaT for short, at Jump Zero.”

Jane nodded, but John frowned in confusion.  “I’ve never heard of Jump Zero or BAaT,” he told them.  “I thought biotics were sent to Grissom Academy.”

“Jump Zero is a nickname for Gagarin Station,” Jane told him.  “And ever since 2176, biotics have been sent to Grissom.  BAaT was before that.  Back when humans were just starting to figure out what biotics were.”

Alenko nodded.  “It didn’t last long,” he added.  “Only a few years or so.”

Jane frowned as she tried to recall all she’d heard about it.  She hadn’t been identified as a biotic at the time, but later, once she had, she recalled the doctor telling her how fortunate she was she wouldn’t have to go there for training.  “Wasn’t there some sort of … accident?”

Alenko’s eyes dropped to the floor briefly before rising to meet theirs again.  “That’s a nice way to put it,” he told them.  “The truth of it is one of the instructors, a turian named Vyrnnus, was killed by one of the students.”

Jane met his gaze and held it, searching for a long moment.  “You?” she guessed.

He nodded.  “Me.  It wasn’t intentional, I promise, but almost from the beginning, Vyrnnus had harassed us, and after so long it just built up.  One of the other students reached for a drink -- with her hand, not her biotics because she just wanted a drink without having to worry about a nosebleed for once.  He liked to do that, use hunger and thirst as incentives for bettering our biotics.  Anyway, when she went for the glass, Vyrnnus broke her arm.  Rahna was one of those quiet types; sweet, kind, never had an enemy.  Vyrnnus knew that and targeted her to send the rest of us a message.”

He paused, eyes dropping again.  “To this day, I don’t quite know what happened.  I remember trying to stop him and he pulled a knife on me.”

“Wait,” John interrupted.  “He pulled a knife on you?  And you were sixteen?”

“Yeah, some ceremonial blade all turians get when they join the military,” Alenko replied.  “I just … I reacted, I guess.  Let go with a full biotic kick and tossed him across the room.  He hit the far wall and his neck snapped.  Even if the medics had been right there when it happened, they wouldn’t have been able to save him.”

“Ouch,” John muttered.

Jane visibly winced.  “And you’re certain it was a blade he pulled?”

Alenko nodded and pointed to the scar at the corner of his mouth.  “He came at me first.  We fought a little before I responded with my biotics.  I found out later he’d managed to catch me with the blade.”  He sighed.  “They -- Conatix who was behind the entire training and research facility -- covered it up as best they could, of course.  Sent us all home.  Closed the school, eventually.  By the time Grissom was open, I was … out on my own.”

It wasn’t difficult to read between the lines.  “Doing this hacking thing?” John asked.

“Yes.  That also didn’t work out well, but it took longer to play out.  Once it finally did, I decided I wanted to start over.  I talked with my Dad and decided to enlist in the Alliance, sort of follow in his footsteps.  He knew Captain Anderson and the rest, as they say, is history.”  He shrugged.  “I thought only he knew about that part of my past.  Guess I was wrong.”

Jane chuckled softly and smiled.  “Don’t kid yourself, Lieutenant,” she told him.  “Anderson and Hackett are good friends.  They both are responsible, along with Udina, for me being recommended as Spectre.  If Hackett knows about your past, it was for a reason, and I doubt you have any reason to worry about it spreading further.”

“Could be,” he agreed.  “I don’t mind doing that sort of thing when necessary, but I really don’t want to lose my career over it.”

Jane’s smile widened and warmed.  “You won’t, LT.  Hackett is as good as his word.  Just like Anderson.”

“Understood, ma’am.”  He paused and looked between the two Commanders.  “How do you want to handle Ontarom?”

Jane tilted her head.  “You.  Williams.  John.  This mission is clearly Alliance related as well as classified.  Let’s keep it in the family, so to speak, for now.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Works for me,” John agreed.

Tapping the comm, Jane called out, “Joker, how much longer to Ontarom?”

“Little over an hour and a half, give or take,” he replied.

“Got it.  Keep me posted.”  Turning back to the other two, she said, “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.  Anyone for breakfast?”

 

~ n ~

 

As with many missions of late, their arrival to find Dr. Wayne on Ontarom came just in the nick of time.  After fighting their way into the doctor’s base through a group of mercenaries, they found him in one of the back rooms.  With a gun to his head, thanks to the one mercenary who’d found him first.  A mercenary, Jane soon discovered, was actually an Alliance Corporal named Toombs and a member of the unit sent in and supposedly killed in the thresher maw attack on Akuze.  His claims sounded half-crazed at first, until he began specifying what happened on Akuze  _ after _ the thresher maw attack, including the role of the scientists.  And the mention of a group named Cerberus.

“Ever have thresher maw acid in your veins?” Toombs demanded.  “I have.  They wanted to see what it would do.”

Internally, Jane shuddered at the thought.  Outwardly, she kept her reaction neutral.  Slowly, quietly, she slipped one hand behind her back and signaled Alenko to run a scan on Toombs, hoping he would find some sort of evidence to back up the man’s claim.  If not, she was going to have a difficult decision to make.

“They’re part of some sort of organization, Cerberus, that runs secret tests like this,” Toombs added angrily.  “They treated me like a lab animal.”

“This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that name,” John murmured quietly to Jane.  She shook her head in agreement, her eyes darting over to the scientist whose demeanor was looking just a little more anxious now.  

“This is justice,” Toombs insisted, the pistol he had aimed at Dr. Wayne’s head remaining steady and on target.  “This man deserves to die.  So, are you going to kill me or not?”

Jane considered her options.  Their original mission was to save the doctor, but Toombs’ damning claims were serious enough to give her pause.  Despite being an Alliance-specific mission, she knew Hackett had left the call to her.  Otherwise, why would she be in command?  “Lieutenant?” she called over her shoulder.

“Completed, ma’am,” Alenko responded immediately.  “I’m not an expert, but there appears to be potential validity to his claim.”

Toombs’ arm rose just a fraction, the pistol settling between Dr. Wayne’s eyes.  “You’re better than this, Toombs,” Jane told him, hoping she might be able to reach through to him.  Whether his claim was true or not, he was clearly suffering and needed help.  “You aren’t like them.”

Scowling, Toombs turned on her.  “Don’t tell me who I am!  My unit died on Akuze and for years I was tortured!  You can’t judge me, Shepard, you don’t have the right!”  As he concluded, his arm swung around to target Jane.  Beside her, she caught sound and movement as John and Williams hefted their weapons in defense.  Calmly, Jane signaled Alenko behind her back again, this time to keep an eye on Dr. Wayne.  Only then did she respond.  “Toombs, if I could have helped you on Akuze, I would have.  All I can do is help you now.  Let me.”

He appeared to consider her request for a moment and, Jane was thankful to see, his weapon lowered.  Cautiously, she took a step towards him, hand out.  He stared at it briefly, then handed over his pistol.  “Okay.  I’m no murderer.  They couldn’t make me one.  Just so long as he goes to trial.”  He covered his face with his hands as Jane secured the weapon.  “Maybe now the screaming will stop.  I don’t know.”

Gently, Jane guided him across the room from the others, murmuring, “Those bastards can’t hurt you anymore.”  Once Toombs was seated on a shipping container, Jane stepped away briefly to contact Joker to request the Fifth Fleet send a ship for pickup.  Behind her, she heard John speaking to the scientist and glanced over when she heard the doctor emit a disgruntled, “Ooof!” as Williams pushed him towards the doorway.

“Commander?”

“Go ahead, Joker,” Jane replied.  Toombs continued to sit docilely on the crate.

“Fifth Fleet must’ve been expecting our request,” he told her.  “Ship’s on its way in -- ETA ten minutes.”

“Got it.  Thanks.”

When they arrived, Jane glanced at her omnitool while passing Toombs over to the medical personnel.  Nine minutes and forty-three seconds.  Alliance efficiency at its best.  Heading out to the main entrance of the base, she caught up with the others who were waiting on her.  “Any trouble with Dr. Wayne?” she asked.

Williams snorted her disgust.  “Other than his continuous assertion he’ll get immunity?  Nah.”

Jane glanced up at John.  “Arrogant much?” she quipped as they crossed to the Mako.

“I’m not so sure,” John replied.  They clambered into the vehicle and prepared for pickup.  “He may have a point, depending if he can convince Alliance Command to listen.  Our knowledge of Cerberus is minimal.”

Jane heard Williams bite off a curse and she sighed.  “Wouldn’t be the first time they’ve done that,” she mused cynically.

“Nor the last, I expect,” John agreed.

 

~ n ~

 

Back aboard the  _ Normandy _ , Jane headed directly to her cabin to complete her report for Admiral Hackett.  John joined her a short while later, and between the two, they were able to sum up all they’d discovered during the mission.  Complete with their personal recommendations -- for what good it would do -- for the treatment of both Toombs and Wayne, Jane added  _ Spectre _ after her signature to give added emphasis to their cause.  Only then did she submit it to the Admiral.

“Why do I get the feeling this could come back to bite us in the ass?” John asked, dropping to lie across their bed while Jane fiddled with the terminal.  It didn’t escape his notice that she didn’t respond right away, and he propped himself up to look over at her.  “Are you even listening to me?”

“Hmm?  Oh, yes, of course.  Bite us in the ass,” she murmured, half turning towards him.  “You may be right.”  

“I may be crazy,**” he countered, referencing an old song they’d both listened to with great affection back when they were teenagers and stuck on the  _ SSV Einstein _ with little to do but school work, listen to music and figure out what technical things stoked each other’s interest.  

Jane chuckled and shook her head.  “No, seriously,” she insisted, waving him back over beside her.  “Take a look at this.”

Frowning, John moved to stand beside her.  “What --?  Oh, Admiral Kahoku’s message?”

Jane nodded.  “Read it, John.  Then tell me you don’t think we’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest.”

_ Shepard, _

_ This is Admiral Kahoku.  I found out who set that trap for my men.  The ones killed by the thresher maw.   _

_ Damn, I hope you get this message.   _

_ It was a group called CERBERUS.  They are an Alliance black ops organization.  Top secret, highest level security clearance.  A few months ago, the vanished.  Dropped right off the grid.  Nobody knew where they went or what they were up to. _

_ Shepard, they’ve gone completely rogue.  They’re conducting illegal genetic experiments trying to create some kind of super soldier.  I don’t have any proof, but I found the coordinates for one of their research worlds.  I’ll attach them to this message. _

_ They’re completely out of control.  Somebody needs to stop them, Shepard.  I’ve done my part, now it’s up to you.   _

_ This is … this is probably the last you’ll hear from me.  Cerberus is after me now.  I need to disappear before they find me. _

_ Admiral Kahoku _

Jane looked up at her husband when he finished, awaiting his reaction.  “We should share this with Admiral Hackett,” he told her immediately.

Jane nodded.  “Explains why the file on Akuze was so hard to get into, doesn’t it?  And why they withheld it from Hackett.  I thought perhaps they were just covering up the loss of an entire unit of Alliance troops, but if you take what Toombs told us and add it to this …”

John sighed and dropped back to sit on the edge of the bed.  “Also explains why so little is ‘known’ about them.  The Alliance would never own up to an entire black ops group going rogue like that.”  He ran a hand across the back of his neck.  “Kahoku has bitten off a lot more than he can chew here.”

Jane sighed, nodding.  “We should go after him, he needs protection, but I  _ need _ to get to the Citadel and report to the Council.”  She sighed again.  “I’ll admit, I’m a bit shocked I haven’t received any nasty messages from them ordering me to report in.”

“Don’t forget we still have Helena Blake to deal with, too,” he reminded her.

“I haven’t.”  Pushing herself to her feet, Jane added, “I really would rather give this information to Hackett in person if at all possible.  If Cerberus is after Kahoku because he knows, they could come after us if they find out  _ we _ know and that would just complicate our mission to hunt down Saren all the more.”

John stood up beside her.  “I agree.  Why don’t I message him and --”

Alenko’s voice broke across the comm.  “Commander?”

“Go ahead, LT,” Jane replied.

“Ma’am, we just got an emergency request from Fifth Fleet.  They received information on the location of Chairman Burns and have asked if we’d intervene ASAP.”

“Oh,  _ this _ ought to be fun,” John muttered.  When Jane gave him a blank look, he continued, “Didn’t you hear the announcement on the Citadel the last time we were docked?  Burns is the chairman of the Alliance Parliamentary Subcommittee for Transhuman Studies.  He was kidnapped a few weeks ago by some disgruntled biotics upset with a recent vote.”

“Rumor has it,” Alenko broke in, “the biotics are L2s.  Burns’ vote denied reparations to L2s with severe health problems.”

Jane sighed again, rolling her head to stretch some of the tense muscles there.  “Acknowledged, LT.  Input the coordinates the Alliance gave us into the galaxy map and get us on our way.”

“Understood, ma’am.  Alenko out.”

Jane lifted her eyes to meet John’s, a smirk pulling at her lips.  “Never a dull moment when we’re together, is there?”

John barked out a laugh and followed her out of the cabin.  ‘Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ** Billy Joel’s song, You May Be Right


	22. Chapter 22

“Ma’am, sensors indicate multiple bodies congregating in the cargo hold,” Alenko murmured beside her aboard the _MSV Ontario_ , eyes locked onto the screen of his omnitool.  

Jane hesitated reaching to open the door.  “Armed?” she asked.  Silly question for a group of biotic extremists, but knowing if there were weapons aside from the biotics would make it easier for them to be on guard.  

Wrex apparently thought it silly too.  “They’re biotics, Shepard.  They’ll be armed one way or another.”

Jane gave the krogan a severe look as he chambered a round in his shotgun and the sound echoed around them.  “We’re doing this peacefully if at all possible,” she reminded him pointedly, her tone as cold as ice.

The krogan’s head swiveled to face her.  “They are terrorists,” he replied.

Jane’s glare darkened and her voice brooked no argument.  “I don’t care.  Mission objective is to rescue the chairman alive if at all possible.  If you have a problem with that objective, go back to the _Normandy_ and send Williams over.  Now.”

Wrex let a moment of heavy silence hang heavily between them before reluctantly replying, “I will only attack if they attack me first.”

Though his answer didn’t reassure her much, Jane suspected it would be the closest she would get him to an acknowledgement of her order.  And despite their recent differences of opinion, she knew keeping his word was important to him.

“Ma’am,” Alenko broke in as he closed down his omnitool, “There’s approximately a dozen of them between us and the entrance to the cockpit section.  Looks like a half dozen people up there, separated from the rest.  If I was holding Chairman Burns hostage, that’d be where I’d take him.”

Jane nodded.  Double checking that her pistol was ready, she reached for the door lock.  “Let’s get this done.”

The biotics in the cargo hold started attacking the moment Jane and her squad were through the door.  Shipping containers were scattered around the hold, some being used as walls in a manner that suggested the biotics were attempting to funnel any intruders where they wished.  However, the moment biotics were brought into the fight, the containers became secondary weapons as well as obstacles.  Jane ducked down sharply as one was lifted up and over her, just barely missing her head in the process.  It fell a moment later, after a shot from Wrex took out the extremist and cut their connection to their biotic energy flow.  Alenko, Jane saw, moved quickly, efficiently, and with practiced skill through the hold.  Though he used the same sorts of offensive and defensive skills as she and Wrex and even those fighting them, Jane now recognized a completely different level of skill that far surpassed any of them, including herself.  She was reminded of his comments about his time at BAaT, and wondered if he realized just how skilled he was compared to most other biotics because of it.  

“Ma’am,” Alenko called over a short while later.  They were about halfway across the cargo hold, their focus on a group of several biotics who were protecting the doorway leading to the cockpit section.  “Do you hear that beeping?”

Jane, crouched behind a shipping container and reloading her pistol, frowned and tried to isolate the sound over the shouts and other noises from the current battle.  It took a long moment, but she finally separated it.  “What is it?” she called back.

“Sounds like a timer,” Wrex offered as he barrelled forward, throwing a punch at the biotic charging towards him.  The man didn’t stand a chance and dropped instantly to the floor, unconscious.  Wrex turned towards the next person without waiting to see the man make contact.

“You will never make it in time!” a female voice shouted from their left.  A moment after, there was a strangled sort of shout before a body went flying across the hold from a biotic throw.  Another voice, this one from the far side of the hold, was clearly speaking to someone.  “Intruders!  Kill the hostage!”

Alenko moved over and dropped beside Jane.  “Well, I’d say that likely confirms it’s a countdown of some sort,” he commented.  He pulled up his omnitool again, ducking over the top of the shipping container to do a thermal scan the area on the other side of the door again.  “Six bodies,” he told her.  “One in the center, the others in an arch around it.”  

“Probably with guns pointed at Burns,” Jane muttered.  “Wrex!” she shouted as Alenko dropped back beside her and shared the view of his screen.  “We need to move on!  Now!”

A bellowing krogan roar bounced eerily off the walls and crates throughout the cargo hold in response.  Though focused on the one remaining biotic who shouted in defiance, “I will destroy you!”, the krogan was maneuvering him back towards the doorway.  A crashing thud of weight landing heavily in a group of shipping containers ended any resistance after that.  

Moving forward, Jane crouched by the door lock.  Lifting her omnitool, she scanned the device then pulled up one of the several hacking programs she always had available for such things.  In under ten seconds, the door slid quietly open before them.  “Let’s go,” she whispered, leading the way through.

The hall led to an intersection.  “Right, left or straight ahead?” she asked Alenko.

“Left, ma’am.”

Stepping over, Jane scanned the lock to that door and was surprised to find it unlocked.  “Be ready,” she told him, then opened the door.

Inside the room they found Chairman Burns kneeling on the floor, his hands raised to the back of his head.  As Jane surmised back in the cargo hold, one of the biotics was holding a pistol to the chairman’s head.  “See how it is?  You write letters and everyone ignores you,” he said.  “Force is the only thing people will listen to!  So how about if I kill Chairman Burns and finish this charade?”

Burns, eyes closed, pleaded, “Please!  I was trying to help you people!”

Jane stood calmly just inside the doorway entrance.  To her right she caught the slightest movement as Alenko stepped up beside her, his pistol leveled at the man targeting Burns.  Behind her, she heard Wrex chamber another round.  “Let’s not do anything we’re all going to regret,” she replied, hoping the man would be reasonable.

The extremist sneered.  “Why not?  What have we got to lose?  Since the chairman here decided we didn’t get reparations, we’ve got nothing left to live for!”

“But I’ve changed my mind!” Burns insisted in a desperate tone.  “Seeing y-you all, it’s c-clear that you all d-deserve …”

“You had your chance,” the extremist snapped.  “Some L2s are nearly crippled from side effects of the implants, but you voted against reparations!”

Jane glanced over at Alenko and noticed a tightness as his lips pressed together.  He nodded almost imperceptibly at her as if backing up the extremist’s claim.  Mind racing frantically for a solution that wouldn’t end in gunfire, she tried, “Think about this.  Burns is the one man who can help you!”  There were two questions still remaining outside of her claim.  One, would the extremists listen to reason at this late date, or would it spur them on to something more destructive? Two, was Burns willing to change his mind and revisit the situation?

For his part, Burns vehemently nodded his agreement with Jane, the words barely out of her mouth.  “Yes!  If you release me, I can take another look at the reparations request!”

“What,” the leader scoffed.  “We’re supposed to trust you?”

Jane couldn’t deny the man had a point.  If their shoes were reversed, she likely would have the same reaction.  But before she could speak and try to reassure him, Kaidan took a step forward.  Lowering his weapon, he announced, “I’m an L2 like you.  Trust me.  The Commander can make sure that Burns follows through.”

The extremist leader wasn’t impressed.  “Sure, you promise us freedom and say everything will be find, but as soon as we surrender, you’ll double cross us!”

Jane grimaced slightly and sighed, stepping up beside Kaidan.  This had to stop  now.  Behind her, she heard Wrex move further inside the room.  “I’m not promising to let you go,” she corrected him immediately.  She _had_ to be upfront and  honest with or he would think she was as bad as the chairman.  She only hoped that by pointing out she wasn’t guaranteeing them freedom she wasn’t cutting off dialogue altogether.  “All I’m saying is that Burns will take another look.”  Her gaze dropped to the chairman.  “Right, Burns?”

Again, Burns nodded.  “Absolutely.  I had no idea that the L2 biotics were this desperate.  If I had known …”  He sighed and when he next spoke, Jane heard true regret in his tone.  “The reparations will come.  For whatever it’s worth, I promise that.”

There was silence for a long moment, but there was considerably less tension in the room than when they’d entered, Jane noticed.  Finally, the leader lowered his weapon.  His companions followed suit and internally, Jane sighed in relief.  “You’re right,” he said.  “I don’t want to die.  Maybe something will happen this time.  We surrender.”

Kaidan and Wrex stepped forward to disarm the remaining biotics, while Chairman Burns stepped towards Jane.  “Thank you, Commander,” he told her sincerely.  “I thought I was dead when they took me.  I’ll see to it that the reparations discussion is reopened.  I didn’t know they were so desperate.”

Jane gave the man a nod and then moved off to the side to signal Joker to call in the Fifth Fleet.  A short while later, she turned back to Burns.  “A Fifth Fleet cruiser is on its way to pick you and the prisoners up.”  She signaled over to Kaidan and Wrex that it was time to leave.  Looking back over at the chairman, she told him, “I will be keeping tabs on this.”

He nodded.  “I understand, Commander.  In fact, I will be happy to keep you informed of our progress.”

It wasn’t until they were on their way back through the cargo hold that Jane heard Kaidan murmur, “Thank you, Commander.”

Jane’s eyes found his.  “No need, Alenko,” she told him quietly.  “I’ll be the first to admit, I’m probably not as informed as I should be regarding the status of L2s, but I know it’s tough.  I also know how close I came to being fitted as an L2 instead of L3.  A few months earlier and I could easily have been at BAaT with you.  It’s a serious discussion and requires a deeper look.”  He seemed to relax at her words and she made a mental note to catch up with him at a later time and discuss it further.

Once back aboard the _Normandy_ , Jane first headed to her cabin to change.  Next, she ducked into the galley to grab a bite to eat -- the joys of biotic metabolism! -- before heading up to the CIC.  She was surprised to find John waiting for her in the mess, mug of tea already in hand.  “So, Alenko says things went well.”

Jane sighed, gratefully accepting the drink and taking a long sip.  “Any time we come out of a mission without everyone dying, it’s a good one, you know that.  It could so easily have ended very badly.”  She shuddered.  “And I nearly had to send Wrex back.”  Taking another sip, she shook her head, silently wondering if she and the krogan would ever fully get their relationship back on track.  

John grunted acknowledgement.  “I heard that, too,” he replied.  

As they talked, Jane moved about the galley fixing herself a quick snack -- a sandwich in this case -- before starting up the stairs to the CIC with her husband.  “Did you ever speak to Hackett?” she asked.

“I did.  He said he can’t get away to meet in person and I should send it directly to him.”  John glanced down at her.  “Which I did.”

Jane stopped approximately midway up the staircase.  “And?” she asked around a bite of sandwich.

John shrugged.  “And what?  I sent it over while you were dealing with the extremists.  I doubt he’s had time to really look at it in detail yet.”

Jane softly grunted her acknowledgement and finished off her sandwich, brushing her hands off against her legs.  

“Commander?”

Jane’s attention was pulled to Joker’s summons.  Swallowing her food, she responded,  “Here, Joker.  What’s up?”

“Admiral Hackett is waiting for you in the comm room.”

Jane sighed and started up the remaining steps.  “Okay, thanks.”  She looked over at John.  “I guess he got to it after all.  Might as well join me,” she told him.  “You know he’ll have questions for you, too.”

John chuckled.  “Don’t mind if I do,” he replied with a grin.  

They entered the comm room side by side and were halfway down the aisle towards the vidcomm when Jane stopped up short suddenly, realizing she’d completely misunderstood Joker’s message.  “Admiral?” she breathed, quickly straightening, arm rising to a salute.  “I’m --  My apologies for not meeting you in person, sir!  I was given to understand you were too --”

Standing in the center of the room Admiral Steven Hackett waved off Jane’s apologies, telling her, “I misunderstood the severity of the situation when John contacted me.”  His eyes moved between them before he added, “So, then.  Care to explain to me exactly what we have here?”

Jane glanced up at John who nodded for her to take the lead.  “Right.  Well, sir, you are aware that Admiral Kahoku contacted me regarding a situation involving his men?”  Hackett nodded.  “The information in the message John sent you was provided by the admiral after our discovery of the fate of the his men on Edolus.  I spoke with him when I was last on the Citadel.  Needless to say, he didn’t take it well.  In fact,” she added, a quick look up at John before turning her gaze back to Hackett, “I even advised Captain Anderson that he might want to check on Admiral Kahoku afterwards.  I don’t know if that ever occurred.  Anyway, just before we arrived at Ontarom, I received the information in John’s message.  It came straight from Admiral Kahoku himself.”

Hackett nodded.  “I understand.  Continue.”

Jane nodded.  “Well, sir, when combined with the information Alenko uncovered for us the last time we spoke, and with the pieces provided by Corporal Toombs, well ….”  Jane took a deep breath.  “Have you ever heard of Cerberus before, Admiral?”

Hackett shook his head.  “I can’t say that I have, Commander,” he told her.  “And though very rare, it isn’t unheard of for groups within the Alliance to go rogue like this on occasion.  It’s happened a time or two in the past.”

Jane blinked.  “Others?” she echoed.

“None has ever had the degree of success like this group appears to have had so far,” he added.  “I contacted Captain Anderson to see if he’d ever heard of them, but he, too, was in the dark.  Suffice it to say that we are both very concerned.”

“Surely someone in Alliance Command knows,” John said.  “It was a black ops group!”

Hackett’s eyes narrowed and a scowl stole over his features.  “Oh, someone knows, alright,” he replied.  “And I intend to have a very thorough and detailed discussion with them regarding this very subject as soon as possible.”

Jane darted a quick and concerned look over at John who, she noted, shared it.  “Um, sir?  In his last message, Admiral Kahoku said he was being hunted by Cerberus and he was going into hiding.  Perhaps you should let us continue the search for information right now?  We know very little about Cerberus and how they operate, and if they should decide to make you a target, too …”

“Jane has a point, Admiral,” John quickly interjected.  “Let us do some more fieldwork for you.  We’ll go meet with Admiral Kahoku -- he sent us some coordinates -- and see what further details he can provide.  Then, if necessary, you can --”

Admiral Hackett chuckled.  “Commanders,” he told them gravely, but with a hint of an appreciative smile, “I will remind you that I built my career on high-risk missions.”

“Understood, sir,” Jane replied immediately, but she could be stubborn too.  “But there isn’t any harm in giving us a few more weeks to track down Admiral Kahoku to see if he can offer us anything else, is there?”

Hackett rubbed his chin with his fingers, considering the argument.  “Alright,” he told them, “I will give you the time you request.  Find Kahoku.  Talk to him.  See if you can’t find out what else he might know.  In the meantime, I will do some quiet checking from my end of things.”

Jane’s lips curved upwards, silently wondering if _quiet_ equated to requesting Anderson to fall back on his N7 training to help.  Straightening again, Jane saluted.  “Yes, sir.  Thank you, sir.”  John followed suit.

“Now, if there is nothing else, I will get back to the Fleet.”

After the Admiral’s departure, Jane dropped into one of the chairs in the comm room, head falling into her hands as her elbows rested on the tops of her legs.  “ _What_ did we just do?” she asked quietly.

Chuckling, John sat beside her and loosely wrapped an arm around her shoulder.  “I think we just agreed to do some sneaky daring-do for the Admiral,” he replied.  

Jane snorted in wry amusement.  “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”  Sighing, she sat back and leaned against him for a very long moment.  “God, John!  How do we always end up like this?” she wondered aloud.

John barked out a laugh.  “Occupational hazard?” he offered.  The glare she gave him out of the corner of her eye had him laughing again.  “We are N7 and good at what we do,” he tried again, this time in a more serious tone.  “He trusts us.”

“And knows we trust him like we do Anderson,” she added.  Another sigh and she sat up straight again, rolling her shoulders.  “Still, that doesn’t keep us from the other things we need to get done.”

“Nope,” he agreed.  “In fact, I was about to go set the galaxy map to take us to meet Helena Blake.  Still want to head there before the Citadel?”

Jane nodded and pushed herself to her feet.  “Yes.  Let’s get her out of the way first.  Then I can deal with the Council, and after that …”

John followed her up, reaching out to place his hands at her shoulders before she walked off.  “You aren’t alone in this,” he told her quietly.  “Just remember that, okay?”

Jane nodded and gave him a quick hug before turning to exit the room.  “Duly noted.  Now come on, let’s get this show on the road.”

 


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note before getting fully into this chapter. Liara sort of snuck up and ambushed me in the second half -- totally new headcanon appeared as a result, and the more I think about it, the more I like the idea and so I decided to go with it. If you have questions over what I'm trying to present, please let me know! I tried to set it out clearly, but it's still formulating in the back of my mind and there's always room to clarify it! :)

 

“ _O Fortuna_ ,” Jane murmured a number of hours later as she stood behind her husband on the bridge.  He was seated at his usual terminal retrieving planet specific information for the upcoming mission.  

John chuckled.  “I’m assuming you’ve heard of Amaranthine before?”

Jane shook her head.  “Nope.  Well, not directly.  I mean, I knew it existed, all recruits learn that, but beyond that …”  She shrugged.  “I think it was named by a poet or for a poet, or something like that, wasn’t it?”

“By the poet Sofia Cabral,” Williams announced as she joined them after being summoned.   

“Oh, great.  You’re not going to go spouting some rare words of wisdom dealing with the color of tulips and someone’s doe-eyed expression, are you?” Joker called over.  “Cause if you are, I’m outta here.  And by ‘I’m’ I mean ‘we’re,’ ‘cause you know, driver here?  Just sayin’.”

Jane bit back a laugh, her eyes sparkling and meeting Williams’.  “Nah,” Williams replied.  “I haven’t read any of her stuff.  Yet.”  She flashed a wink at Jane.  “Figured I’d grab a book or two next time we’re on the Citadel, though.”  Joker’s groan had both women grinning at one another.  “I didn’t know you were so offended by the color of flowers, Joker.”

“It’s not the colors but how long it takes to describe them,” Joker countered.  “Why use four words like a normal person when you can say it in sixty-one?”

John caught Jane’s attention by pointing at the planet display and tapping the screen.  “Here,” he told her.  “The base is in the southern part of this quadrant.”

Still chuckling softly, Jane turned her attention and scanned the area.  “Any sign of them?” she asked.  “Ships?  Anything indicating it’s a trap of some sort?”

“Not that I can find,” he replied.  His fingers roamed across the keyboard for a moment and the screen shifted along with his commands.  “This area’s probably their landing zone -- plenty of space here to maneuver and not too far from the base -- but it’s currently empty.”  He tilted his head up to look at her.  “I’d say Blake’s going to great lengths to make it look as safe as possible for you.”

Jane nodded.  “Which is exactly why I don’t trust it,” she added.  Behind her, Williams chuckled heartily.  Glancing back, Jane lifted an eyebrow and asked in a deceptively mild tone, “Problem with that assessment, Chief?”

Williams straightened so quickly it was a wonder she didn’t get whiplash, a look of horror crossing her features.  “Wh-what?  No, ma’am, not at all!  I was just thinking you’re a woman after my own heart!”

Jane’s features softened as her gaze returned to the map layout.  “Go and suit up, Williams.  And tell Vakarian he’s on for this one, too.  I’ll meet you down there shortly.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Williams replied immediately, tossing a quick salute before hurrying off the bridge.

John chuckled before murmuring, “You shouldn’t tease her, you know.”

Jane used the same brow-lifting move on him.  “How is that teasing?  I’m the one in command.”

He reached his hand up to tweak the tip of her nose.  “It won’t work on me.”  Jane blinked in confusion.  “The intimidation tactics.”

“Intimidation tac --”  Jane scowled and swatted his hand away before leaning over his shoulder.  “I’ll deal with you later, _captain_.  Now, what’s this?”  She used her finger to point to three areas the computer had marked to the north of the base.

Grinning, because her reaction to what he was about to tell her was predictable enough, John mimicked her movement as he identified them.  “Iridium.  Uranium.  Thorium.”  He paused a moment, then looked up at her again.  “So.  Sure you don’t want me along on this one?”

Jane’s scowl darkened as she straightened.  “I hate you,” she muttered beneath her breath but without any heat as she turned and walked off the bridge to the sound of her husband’s amused laughter.

 

~ n ~

 

_When these men are dead, I’ll wait for you at the third set of coordinates._

Having marked the mineral locations for the Alliance on their inbound journey, Jane’s focus was now solely upon the reason for them being here in the first place.  

 _Well, Helena, you are as good as your word_.   _Now, let’s see if you’ll listen to reason…_

Jane glanced over at Williams and Vakarian who both nodded they were ready, then she opened the door.  She wasn’t surprised to find Helena Blake standing on the doorstep, so to speak.  “Hello again, Commander Shepard,” the older woman greeted her in an overly saccharine-sweet tone.  It was more than enough to set the hairs at the back of Jane’s neck on end.  “I owe you a debt of gratitude.  With my former partners dead, this syndicate is now mine.  I could not have done it without you.”

 _Yeah, I had that part figured out._  “I killed them because they deserved it,” Jane replied evenly, “not because you wanted it.”  Her eyes darted beyond Helena for an instant, noting the locations of two of Helena’s people nearby.  “By the way, you’re under arrest.”

The woman was good at masking her reactions, Jane concluded.  Without a crack in her composure, Helena argued, “Surely you don’t think that necessary!  Under my leadership, this organization will restrict itself to gambling and smuggling illegal technologies.  These crimes are hardly worth your time.”  

Jane drew in a slow, deep breath as her gaze narrowed on the woman.  “Gambling?  Illegal technologies?  Try _slavers_ , Helena,” she bit out.  The anger and disgust that had pulled Jane so deeply into this mission from the moment they arrived on Klensal flooded back to simmer just below the surface.  It was nearly overwhelming, though Jane was expecting it.  Just as she was expecting the telltale aura of her biotics now enveloping her left hand.  “You all were a bunch of slavers, rounding up those who couldn’t pay for the drugs you foisted upon them as well as their families!  And you shipped them off to the batarians who then sold them into servitude!  There is _NO_ justification for that, Helena!  None!”

The first crack in the older woman’s composure came with the sneer.  “Those two idiots sent us down a path of destruction that I aim to fix!” she insisted.  “I will be damned if I pay the price for their stupidity!”

Jane eyed her for a long moment.  “The only price you’ll pay is by permanently disbanding the group,” Jane told her.  “Walk away from this life once and for all.  Otherwise …”

The woman’s glare took on a severe edge.  “If you press the issue, Commander,” she warned, “my assistants are very well-equipped to deal with you.”

Jane sighed internally.   _Stubborn fool_ , she thought.  There was no doubt left in Jane’s mind that Helena Blake would never back down.  And that, as well as the behavior of her associates, condemned her.  “So are mine, ma’am,” Jane replied in a carefully polite tone.  “If you won’t come peacefully, you leave me no choice --”

Helena sighed as if bored with the entire exchange.  “A pity,” she said.  Then calling back over her shoulder, she shouted, “Neutralize the Spectre!”

Jane took a step forward, but found herself blocked by some sort of barrier field.  “Back up,” she ordered Williams and Vakarian even as she took a few steps back and started firing her pistol at it.  It took a number of shots, but the field finally collapsed, allowing them to enter the room.  Once inside, all three ran to take cover.  “Garrus, above us!  I want those snipers down, now!  Williams, clear out the right!”  

Jane was about to assist Williams with the mercs coming towards them when she spotted a blur of movement and turned to see Blake moving in, a familiar glow suffusing her right hand.  Grunting, Jane threw herself to her left as the woman tossed a Warp in her direction.  Jane managed to duck behind a shipping container long enough to surreptitiously pull up her omnitool which she set to shoot off an overload as she moved back out into the line of fire.  The attack caught Blake and one of her companions; stunning Blake and sending the other merc to the floor.  Jane wasted no time resetting her ‘tool then lifted her pistol and fired shot after shot in Blake’s direction, ducking and dodging as she needed to protect herself.  At one point, she moved up so close she managed to throw a right punch at Blake, catching her beneath the chin and stunning her.  Jane backed away immediately, but Helena was quick to react after her initial shock.  Jane’s view of Helena’s pistol lifting and firing off a point blank shot reminded her of old slow motion action movie footage.  The shot took out Jane’s biotic barrier field, leaving her open and unprotected.  Her left hand was moving even as Helena’s pistol leveled at her again.  Before Jane could get her biotic barrier reset, a shot rang out from her right and slammed into Blake square in the center of her chest.  Jane watched as the older woman dropped to the floor with a heavy thud, a pool of blood quickly forming beneath her.  

Approaching carefully, Jane kicked Blake’s weapons out of range before taking a knee beside her.  She was trying to speak, but all that came out was a choked gurgle and life soon faded from her eyes.  

“You okay, Commander?” Garrus asked as he walked up beside her.  His eyes dropped, taking in the location of his shot, and he grunted softly in acknowledgement.

Jane nodded as she rose.  “Thanks,” she told him.  “That was one _hell_ of a shot!”

The turian nodded first, then chuckled -- at least Jane thought he did.  A moment later, he replied, “Thanks.  And, well, she _did_ shoot first.”

His meaning was lost on Jane at first -- until Williams started cackling in amusement as she walked over to join them.  “Of all the scenes in that movie, you remembered _that_ one?!”

“Movie?” Jane echoed. Williams turned towards her, and there was something in the look she gave Jane that triggered the memory.  “ _Star Wars_?  You -- the cantina -- Han and Greedo -- Garrus, you -- you tease!”

He made that same sound again, the one Jane categorized as amusement, and his mandibles shifted slightly into a turian-esque smile.  “It seemed appropriate for the moment,” he replied.

Chuckling herself now, Jane replaced her pistol at her hip and patted him on the shoulder as she started further into the base.  “That it is, my friend.  That it is.  Now, let’s see if we can find anything else around here.”

 

~ n ~

 

“Let me guess, she wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer?”

Jane glanced up at John as she removed her boots.  “She wanted to keep the group going.  I said no.”  She shrugged.  “She also didn’t deny the slaver part -- or agree to stop.  Said something about ‘gambling and smuggling illegal technologies,’ but I didn’t buy it.”  Jane sat back on the bench and sighed, raising her arms over her head to stretch.  She sighed again, this time with satisfaction, as her back popped.  “And, as Garrus said, she shot first.”

John frowned, but Williams started laughing again and Jane grinned over at her.  “Did I miss something?” he asked.

Jane opened her mouth to respond, but Williams beat her to it.  “No, Skipper, you were there.”  She flashed him a grin and moved over to her work table, collecting Jane’s weapons in the process.  

John glanced at Jane, saw the mischief there, and decided to let it go for the moment.  He’d ask later if it still bugged him.  

“Are we on our way to the Citadel?” Jane asked.

John nodded.  “I set the galaxy map as soon as we had you back on board.  Last ETA I saw had us about eleven hours out.”

Nodding, Jane rose to her feet and stashed her armor inside her locker.  “Good.  Gives me time to write up my report and grab a shower.”  She walked over to the lift with John beside her.  “Still no prodding from the Citadel?”

“Not a peep,” he confirmed.  

Sighing, Jane leaned back against the wall as the elevator slowly ascended.  “Is it wrong I should be suspicious because they haven’t?” she asked after a minute.  “I mean, I know they have to give Spectres a hell of a lot of leeway when they’re out on missions, but … isn’t this how or possibly why Saren was able to go rogue in the first place?”  She glanced over at John and saw his head tilt as he considered her words.  Lifting her hands, she rubbed her face.  “I’m overthinking things again, aren’t I?”

“Possibly,” he allowed, “but not unreasonably.  I mean, you have a point.  The fault for Saren lies somewhere -- obviously with him, but also probably with procedure.  They have to have some way to hold Spectres accountable.”

Jane nodded.  “Do they just not see it?” she mused.  “I mean, there has to be a balance, right?  Enough leeway to get the job done, but some level of accountability so they aren’t abusing their power.  Right?”

“Maybe they don’t want to see it,” he suggested.  “I get the impression they brought you in not because they wanted humanity to have a Spectre on board, but to placate Udina.  It was a political move.”  He darted a quick look over at her and smiled.  “Not to say you aren’t doing one hell of a job.”

Jane’s lips quirked up at the side of her mouth.  “Thanks for that vote of confidence,” she murmured dryly but with a half laugh.  

He gave her a sheepish look which made her laugh more deeply.  As long as they’d known one another and been together, there were still times when communication between them could be awkward.  “Maybe you ought to mention it to them?” he suggested.

This time, Jane rolled her eyes.  “I’ll keep that in mind when I see them, but I highly suspect I’m going to get brought to task for what happened on Noveria.  You saw how they reacted to my handling of the Thorian situation.”  She sighed again, muttering, “It’s almost like they _want_ me to fail.”

John shook his head.  “You handled that situation well enough no matter what they say,” he told her.  “And I have no doubt you’ll do the same this time.”

Jane shook her head.  “I’m not so sure.  I thought Sparatus was going to pop over the Thorian issue.  If he complains about this, he’ll likely have support this time -- Valern, most likely.”

“Councilor Tevos seems to have control over them as a group, though,” John pointed out.  “Maybe appeal to her?”

“We can always hope,” Jane replied.

“And you won’t be alone,” he added as the lift came to a stop.  He followed her out of the elevator and around into their cabin.  “I’ll be there, and I’m sure --”

“No.”  Jane stopped in the center of the room and turned to face him.  “John, I’m acting as Spectre -- I alone am responsible for my actions and decisions.  You can’t be with me when I face them.”

He scowled and took a step towards her.  “But we’re a team!”  

“I know that,” she replied, reaching out to take his hand.  She squeezed it hard once and looked up into his eyes.  “Trust me, no one wants to shout that and prove it to the galaxy more than I do, but this is a Spectre thing.  I _have_ to do this by myself.”  She sighed and squeezed again before adding, “And if the worst should happen, you and everyone else can hightail it off the Citadel and continue the mission if necessary while I face the fallout.”  

His scowl darkened.  There were certain aspects of the job he absolutely loathed.  Political bullshit was definitely high on his list.  “We won’t make it very far without a Spectre on board,” he groused.

Jane managed a quirky smile for him.  “Maybe not, but you’ll lead them a merry chase.”  She leaned up and kissed his cheek.  “Look, if you feel you absolutely have to be there, they can’t stop you from being in the gallery.  But I will be standing before them alone.”

“Not even Udina?” he asked.

Jane grimaced.  “Oh, hell no!” she breathed.  “I’m the Spectre, not him!”

It took another minute or so, but John finally nodded.  “Alright, gallery it is.  One way or another, you _will_ have backup.  But the first time they --”

Jane reached up and covered his lips with her fingertips.  “Some battles I have to fight on my own, John.  Not all of them are like London.”

His eyes closed and his shoulders sagged for a moment, but he didn’t protest again.  Instead, he muttered, “Why do you always bring that up in situations like this?”

Jane actually giggled.  “Because I can.  And because you and Anderson are the only others who know about it.”  She grinned.  N7 top security classification was a wonderful thing at times.

 

~ n ~

 

The commander’s order to the crew to enjoy shore leave notwithstanding, Liara moved quickly through the halls of the Presidium.  It was a familiar enough place.  She’d visited on numerous occasions over the years -- both with her mother and later -- and easily knew her way around.  She managed to make it all the way to the Council Chambers and inside before the doors were closed for the current session; a session that she feared would not be kind to the commander.

Since their departure from Noveria, Liara had been locked away in her office, thinking.  Though much of the crew of the _Normandy_ believed she was mourning her mother, in reality Liara spent the majority of time considering the conversation she and Jane had after.  At first, the asari wanted to deny the give and take Jane suggested would need to occur before she could move forward from her mother’s death.  Some research over the extranet -- something she was quite skilled at -- as well as time and more consideration, and Liara now had a much better understanding of humans and their views on mourning and loss.  Though she was still mourning, something she could now more easily understand why it was considered ‘a process’ and would take time, she wasn’t about to let that interfere with something potentially more dangerous.

If the Council misunderstood the events on Noveria, Liara wasn’t just afraid they would censure Shepard, but revoke her status as Spectre altogether.  The councilors had a certain reputation, after all, and Liara had both witnessed them in action and heard stories of past instances, particularly where humanity was concerned.  More than one had been brought to task over time, and if _that_ happened with Shepard, Liara understood the galaxy would be doomed.

In the last moments of Benezia’s life, there had been one fleeting instant where mother and daughter met, minds merging, memories shared.  And in those memories, Liara witnessed something more frightening and dangerous than she ever wanted to admit could exist.  It was on a level par to Shepard’s visions from the prothean beacon, if no less confusing, but there was an urgency to it as well.  At the time, Benezia had managed one last moment of lucidity, and Liara had no doubt the information she received was valid, if specifically from Benezia’s point of view.  At the moment, it was still mostly impressions, fueled by urgency, rather than anything specific.  But it was enough to know that if the Council revoked Shepard’s status as Spectre, the galaxy would be lost.

It was something Liara aimed to keep from happening if at all possible, even if she had nothing concrete to present to the Council in Shepard’s defense.

Dressed in civilian clothing she usually preferred in the dust-filled prothean ruins she liked to explore, Liara found a place in the gallery close enough to the front so she could speak up and be seen and heard, if necessary.  Her eyes were glued to the Council as they grilled Shepard -- _that is the human term for it, isn’t it?_ \-- as if willing them in some way to go easy on her.  It was a silly hope -- asari might be feared at times for the power they could wield with their minds -- but it was a hope nonetheless.  The Council was, as usual, blunt to the point of gross negligence.

“Matriarch Benezia left us no choice but to respond the way we did,” Jane replied.  “We encountered geth and asari commandos from the moment we arrived on Noveria through our investigation of Peak 15.”

“Commander, there is no question you responded within your power as Spectre,” Councilor Tevos was quick to reply, darting a sharp look first at her turian counterpart and then over at the salarian.  Liara sighed heavily, visibly sagging against the railing separating her from the Council floor.  Until the councilor spoke again.  “Our concern, rather, lies in your decision to release the rachni queen.”

A buzzing murmur of voices from the gallery took over, echoing throughout the chamber around her, and Liara sighed.  Wrex had hinted that there would be hell to pay for Shepard’s choice, but in her naïveté, Liara had believed he was referring to future battles or warfare.  She should have recognized that the Council would be the first obstacle.  Of course, they view the rachni release as a larger threat.

“The rachni queen was a victim,” Shepard insisted.  “She was a prisoner to Binary Helix and to Saren, her children stolen from her and used for experiments!  Releasing her was the right thing to do.  In return for her freedom, she promised to go into hiding someplace where she can raise her children peacefully.”  She took a long moment to give each councilor a long, hard look.  “I believed her and I agreed.”

Another ripple of sound rose from the gallery.  “Commander,” Sparatus intoned gravely, “you know not what you have done.”

“The rachni nearly destroyed us centuries ago,” Valern interjected.  “And now they will repopulate and attack us again, destroying all --”

“No!”

Liara was startled when all eyes in the room, including those of Shepard and the councilors, all turned towards her.  Only then did she realize she’d spoken her denial aloud.  The rustle of sound began again, until finally Councilor Tevos raised a hand to bring silence.  “Dr. T’Soni, isn’t it?” she asked.  “Matriarch Benezia’s daughter?”

Taking a deep breath and preparing herself to sink or swim, Liara nodded and moved as close to the edge of the balcony as she could.  “Yes, councilor.  I beg your pardon for the interruption, but I was at Noveria with Commander Shepard when she decided to release the rachni queen.  Like Shepard, I do not believe the queen will attack us as in the past.”

“And how would you know?” Councilor Sparatus asked.  His voice was just as derisive as it was towards Shepard, Liara noted.  “You are an archaeologist, are you not?”  

“I have a basic understanding of psychology, councilor.  The queen is not a survivor of the rachni wars per se,” Liara explained.  “She was but an egg at the time the rachni were destroyed.  She had no first hand knowledge of the wars.  Binary Helix found her, hatched her.  Once she started laying eggs, they took her children from her, raising them apart from her.  The rachni are a matriarchal society, and without interaction with her, the children became something dangerous.  Wild, even.  The request to destroy them came directly from the queen.”  Taking a deep breath, Liara concluded, “She wants peace, councilors, not war.  As I said, like Commander Shepard, I believe the rachni queen when she says she will not harm us again.”

“What value is your opinion on this matter?” Councilor Valern demanded.  “If, as you say, you were there, you witnessed your mother’s death.  You were grieving.  Who even knows if you are recollecting events as they truly happened?”

Liara gave the salarian councilor her pithiest look.  “I have an excellent memory, councilor.  Yes, I witnessed my mother’s death, but I also helped fight that battle.”

Councilor Tevos lifted an arm to silence Valern from speaking again, but her eyes were focused on Liara.  “Is there any other testimony you can provide regarding this incident, Dr. T’Soni?”

Liara considered for a moment.  “Only that our mission, as it exists now, requires someone like Commander Shepard leading the way in order to complete it.  Without her …”  She let her voice trail off, deciding that to put words to something she had yet to speak with the commander about was probably not the best course of action.  Better to let the drama of the moment serve the same purpose.

Tevos took another long look at her companions before turning back to face Shepard.  “Commander Shepard, the Council accepts your report on the events at Noveria as stated, acknowledging your decision to allow the rachni queen to leave with peaceful intentions.  No further action on this matter will be required.  The Council is dismissed.”

Sighing softly in relief, Liara leaned heavily against the railing once again, her eyes closed.  Taking several deep breaths, she tried to find the inner balance she usually had when out on a dig or was buried in her research.  A way to ground herself during trying times.  Like now.

“Liara.”

She jumped at the sound of John’s voice, her eyes flying open even as she stumbled backwards a step or two.  At the same time, she tripped as her foot bumped into his.  “Oh, Commander, I’m so sorry!”

John’s arm shot out to catch her and keep her from falling.  Gently guiding her across the floor, he led her to a bench where they could sit.  “Relax, it’s okay,” he told her as they sat down.  “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

Liara felt heat rising in her cheeks and she ducked her eyes to stare at her hands in her lap.  “I had to come,” she told him quietly.  “I … I know what the Council can be like, and I was afraid they would try to sanction the Commander or revoke her status as Spectre altogether.”

“Well, it wasn’t for lack of trying, that’s for sure,” Jane replied as she joined them.  Taking a seat on Liara’s other side, she added, “Thank you, Liara.  I don’t know how or why you were there, but your timing was impeccable.”  She darted a quick, quirky look between the two.  “I was beginning to think Valern might have me for lunch!”

John chuckled and winked at his wife.  “I wonder if salarians like ketchup?”

Liara frowned, glancing between the two, only belatedly realizing they were joking.  “Oh,” she replied a moment too late, her shoulders easing just a bit.  

Chuckling, Jane patted Liara’s shoulder.  “Relax, Liara.  I probably could have talked my way out of it, but having your point of view made it a great deal easier.”

“I -- you -- you’re welcome,” Liara finally stammered.  A hand rose and pressed at her temple.  “I’m sorry, there was another reason … or perhaps I should say I believed they might be trying to remove you from your Spectre position for another reason … or -- oh, I’m not making much sense, am I?”

Jane glanced over at her husband and saw him shrug, his head shaking back and forth.  “Another reason?  I’m not sure I understand.”

Liara took another deep breath and looked around their immediate area to make sure no one was listening before she said quietly, “You remember that joining we did?  With your memories from the prothean beacon you found on Eden Prime?”  Jane nodded.  “Well, my mother and I did something similar when she was dying.  Tali or Garrus might call it an … ‘info dump?’  Well, some pieces of what she shared are finally starting to make some sense to me.  I … I thought that if I was here and the Council tried to dismiss you because of Saren and Benezia and the indoctrination, that maybe I could convince them otherwise.”

Liara paused and glanced between the two of them again.  “I suppose it all made more sense inside my head at the time,” she added glummly.  

Jane smiled.  “Actually, I think I kind of understand what you’re saying,” she admitted.  “Though, don’t expect me to start putting it into coherent words any better than you!”

“At least someone gets it,” John interjected.  “I’m not afraid to admit I’m lost.”

“I saw some things,” Liara said.  “Images from my mother’s memories, that is.  When I first received them, they were not so clear, but now a few are starting to make more sense.”

Jane gave the asari a curious look filled with concern.  “Your mother was clearly indoctrinated, Liara,” she reminded her as gently as she could.  “Are you certain you won’t suffer from --”

Liara immediately shook her head negatively.  “No.  It isn’t working like that.  At least, I don’t believe it is.  Yes, my mother was indoctrinated, even mentioned it to us, like Shiala did.  But from what I’ve been able to put together so far, only her memories appear to be affected.  It’s like … like a fog, if you will.  There are very strong … feelings, emotions, reactions she had that I never would have expected from her that are otherwise inexplicable and …”  She swallowed tightly.  “I believe it’s something about Saren’s ship -- Sovereign -- causing it, but I can’t see past the haze surrounding her memories.  I’m afraid it’s still too fuzzy.”

“Your mother said something about the Mu Relay on Noveria?  About the information she passed from the rachni queen to Saren,” John added.  “Is there anything more you can add to that?”

Liara shook her head.  “No, I’m sorry.  That is as she told us then.  I’m sorry, Commander, so much of it is still a big blur …  But I _do_ know that if the Council removed you from your position, that if you aren’t allowed to complete this mission, we as a galaxy are doomed.”

“Huh.  Well, then,” Jane murmured, but with a hint of humor, “no pressure!”

“Maybe you just need more time to let things sift out?” John suggested.  Rising, he offered Jane his hand and pulled her to her feet when she accepted it.  He offered the same to Liara.  “How about something to eat in the meantime?  I don’t know about you two, but I skipped lunch for this meeting and I’m starved.”

It was on the tip of Liara’s tongue to excuse herself and head back to the _Normandy_ , except for the fact that for the very first time, she was feeling as if her presence was actually useful to the commanders.  Oh, she’d helped on Feros with the matriarch’s writings and during the mission on Noveria and other times, of course, but this … she knew she had something here and her presence just felt right.  Looking up at them, she smiled and replied, “That sounds like … a plan?”

Jane laughed and nodded as John pulled Liara to her feet.  “That it does.”

 


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the update delay. As always, Real Life took a jab at me, in both expected and unexpected ways.  
> As many of you know, come November over the past five years or so, I participate in Nano. I did that again last year (and yay, some progress on a story I’ve been trying to get started for five years!) as did my beta. I had a few chapters edited by that point, but once we got buried in the craziness that is Nano, all bets were off.  
> In addition to that, at about the same time as Nano started, my family and I got news that my mother had non-Hodgkins lymphoma. She had a tumor removed (successfully) from her brain, but there were others. She spent over a month in the hospital (from late October into December). I somehow managed to focus and get my Nano writing completed in three weeks, then spent the week of Thanksgiving with her and dad. Though she was starting chemo, and hated being in the hospital and all the delays in getting her to physical therapy (the damned thing mimicked a stroke, so it took forever to diagnose, and she still had the whole mobility issue on her left side), we talked about all sorts of things and she managed to con me into doing an afghan knitting thing she’d been working on. In the end, she gave me a bunch of gorgeous yarn to make my own (seriously, beautiful yarn!) and I am now knee deep in knitting a Sherlock Holmes inspired afghan. (third of a series of five, so guess who’ll be going back at some point to catch up on the previous two?!) Mom’s been doing alright, but she’s been back and forth to the hospital a few times for various things, mostly stemming from reactions to chemo meds. This past month, they changed her second chemo treatment because of that. This past Friday, my dad says she’s having what could be a reaction to the new drug or it could be another tumor. They’re doing an MRI tomorrow to check. So, needless to say, it’s been a rather stressful time for us. I’ve been writing, but mostly on things that are a LOOOOOOOOONG way from being published, if ever. (yes, it’s fanfiction)  
> I will apologize in advance if my posting rate stays rather on the lazy side of things in the near future. Writing is a release of stress for me most times, but the editing and posting is more of a process that, to be quite honest, I forget about with all the craziness around me. I do intend to finish this story, though, and I will try to keep things as caught up as I can in the meantime. Thank you all for your patience!

After grabbing a bite to eat, Jane broke off from John and Liara who were headed down to the markets and instead made her way back towards the Presidium.  Her hope was to catch up with Anderson so she could check in with him regarding a few outstanding issues, not the least of which involved Admiral Kahoku.  If Udina was around, well, so be it.  Perhaps feeling just a bit overconfident after her interview with the Council, she couldn’t be bothered to worry about his reaction to how things were going.  At best, he’d have an apoplectic fit and head off to the infirmary.  At worst, he’d scold her.   

Upon arrival at the embassy, however, Jane discovered that neither Anderson nor Udina was available.  “Commander,” the ambassador’s assistant called after her as Jane turned away, “Captain Anderson did leave this message for you just in case you stopped by.”

Jane turned back and accepted the datapad.  “Thanks.”  She gave it a quick read and added, “Tell him I’ll look into it as soon as possible.”

“Yes, ma’am.  Have a nice day.”

For the moment, Jane pocketed the datapad as she wandered through the halls of the Presidium.  With no clear cut objective now that Anderson was unavailable, she had extra time on her hands she wasn’t certain how to spend.  When she came to a fork in her road, she opted to head to the Wards via the access elevators rather than hail a skycab.  

Eventually exiting the elevators into the atrium outside of C-Sec Academy, she nearly bumped into Garrus as she rounded a corner.  “Sorry, Garrus,” she told him as she pulled herself up short.  She’d been caught up in her own thoughts and not paying attention to where she was going.

“Not to worry, Commander,” Garrus replied.  His hand was at her shoulder, having shot out to steady her before she fell.  “I should have been paying more attention.”

Jane chuckled.  “Never admit that,” she told him beneath her breath then winked at him.  “Neither was I.”

Habit had them falling into step with one another and retracing some of her earlier steps.  “Headed someplace in particular?” she asked.  

“The markets,” he replied.  “I finally saved up enough credits for --”

Jane frowned over at him, her arms folded across her chest, as the elevator began moving.  “Garrus, let _me_ take care of those mods you want, remember?  I’ve got access at Spectre Requisitions and --”

He shook his head.  “This doesn’t exactly fall under Spectre Requisitions regulations, Commander,” he told her.  “It’s something Wrex mentioned a while back and I told Williams I’d look into it.”

Jane’s frown deepend.  “It’s not black market, is it?”  Just what she didn’t need the Council jumping on her for.

“Not exactly,” he told her.  “There’s a merchant I know who used to offer C-Sec some of the best deals -- before these goods come out for sale on the open market.  Chellick allowed me to have him on the payroll, so to speak, and that helped us stay a step ahead of the bad guys, I think you humans say?”

Jane nodded.  “Okay, I’m game.  So, we’re headed to this merchant?”

“Yes.  I promise, Commander, it isn’t anything illegal.  Just …”  

He clearly was struggling to find a way to explain it, though Jane wasn’t sure if it due more to a difference in language or the merchant’s reputation.  Sighing, she made a decision and waved him off.  “Don’t tell me,” she said.  “The less I know, the easier it’ll be to deny if the Council comes after me about it.”

Garrus chuckled.  “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about them, Commander.  C-Sec still uses them on a regular basis.”

“Is that what you were doing back there?” Jane asked next.  “Checking in with C-Sec?”

If a turian could look nervous and fidgety, Jane thought Garrus looked it in that moment.  “No, not exactly.”

Jane’s eyebrow lifted, the question obvious though not spoken.  

“Just … following up on a couple of things,” he clarified.  “I had a couple of cases that were still open when I left.”

“Ah.”  Jane nodded.  “Unfinished business.”

“Yeah, I guess you’d call it that.”

She tilted her head.  “Anything interesting?  You’ve been with C-Sec a while, haven’t you?  I bet you’ve got stories you could tell.”

Garrus chuckled.  “These, not so much,” he replied.  “Simple theft, illegal trespass, that sort of thing.  But I will admit, there _have_ been some interesting ones over the years.”

“Care to share?”

He tilted his head in a manner suggesting he was considering his options.  “Well, there was this salarian geneticist I was sent to investigate one time.  That one was a bit …”  He hesitated and eyes darted over to hers worriedly before he added, “Disturbing, shall we say?”

Jane blinked.   _Disturbing?_  “That can’t be good.  Why were you investigating him?”

“I’d been asked to track black market trade on the Citadel,” he told her.  

Jane snickered and gave him a skeptical look considering their previous conversation.  “Really?”

“I know what you’re thinking, Commander, and no, this has nothing to do with the merchant,” he assured her.  “Most of what I was looking into was harmless.  Nitpicky things that didn’t require further investigation.  But while I was checking it out, I  discovered there was an increase in the trade of body parts.”

Jane’s nose scrunched up at that thought.  “Wait -- did you just say ‘body parts?’”

He nodded.  “Yes.  Organs, mostly.  Which believe it or not isn’t unusual -- we usually get some of those, but not in the numbers I came across.  And we couldn’t tell if it was coming from a new black market lab or if some freak was harvesting organs from citizens.”

Jane shivered at that thought.  “And you’ve seen this before?  On the Citadel, I mean?”  She’d heard of similar things in ancient human history, too.

“Every so often,” he replied, “some lab sells unwanted parts through the black market.  But they’re not as bad as the psychos.  I remember this one elcor diplomat we caught in my first year --”

Jane immediately raised a hand.  She had no idea where his story would lead, but she suddenly had the emotionless voice of the last elcor they’d spoken with -- the merchant on Noveria -- in her head and she didn’t want to even _think_ what they could do.  She’d witnessed some bad things in her life, and this had the potential to be even worse.  “Okay, I get your point, Garrus.  Just … let’s stick with the geneticist.”

He gave her a long look at first, but eventually nodded.  “Right.  Well, we got a sample of one of the organs and ran DNA tests on it.  Turned out it belonged to a turian who was still alive and was very convinced he’d never lost his liver.”  Garrus shrugged.  “What could I do?  He had a point, after all.  Anyway, after that dead end, I did a bit of digging around and discovered he’d worked briefly for Dr. Saleon, the geneticist.  So, on a hunch, I went to his lab.”

“What were you hoping to find?”  Jane knew her curiosity was getting the better of her.

“Evidence of cloned organ development,” was his immediate reply.  “But that would have been too easy.  I got there, but found nothing.  No salarian hearts, no turian livers, not one krogan testicle.”

“You’re kidding, right?”  She gave him a bemused look.  “Why would anyone want krogan testicles?”

He shrugged.  “Some krogan believe it’ll increase their virility and counteract the effects of the genophage.  It doesn’t work, but that doesn’t stop them from buying.”  He shook his head and added, “If you can believe it, they’ll pay up to 10,000 credits each -- that’s 40,000 for a full set.  Somebody’s making a killing out there.”

“Yeah.”  The elevator began to slow and Jane prepared to disembark.  “Alright, so you went and found nothing.  What did you do about the geneticist?”

Garrus waited for her to exit before him.  “I brought in some of his employees to see if I could get them to talk, and while I was interviewing one of them, I got what you humans call a ‘lucky break.’”  

They veered off to their left where it was less crowded and fewer people would overhear them.  “And?”

His voice dropped as he explained, “One of them started bleeding pretty badly during the interview.  We offered to get him medical attention, but he got frantic.  Completely freaked out.  I ordered a full exam to see if we could find out what was going on.  The medics discovered incisions all over this guy’s body.  Some of them were even fresh.”  His eyes met hers.  “That was our big break.  These people weren’t just employees of Dr. Saleon, they were living, breathing test tubes.”

Jane’s eyes widened.  “He was growing parts inside these people?”

Garrus nodded.  “He cloned their organs right inside their own bodies.  Then he harvested them and sold them off.  Most of his victims were poor, lured in when he promised to pay them a small percentage of the sales.  But that had a price too -- he’d only pay them if the organs were good.  Sometimes they didn’t grow properly, so he’d just leave it in them.  Most of these people were a mess, but only on the inside … hidden away where no one else could see it.”

Jane bit back a groan of disgust.  “I hope he got what he deserved,” she muttered.

Garrus sighed.  “That’s the worst part.  We never caught him.”

“What?  Why not?  What the hell happened?”

“He found out we knew and ran.  Destroyed his lab, took some of his employees hostage, and headed for the nearest space dock,” Garrus explained.  “By the time I found out, his ship was already leaving.  Said he’d kill his hostages if we tried to stop him.”

This time Jane did groan.  Catch-22.   _Damned if you do, damned if you don’t_.  “You went after him anyway, right?”

Garrus began pacing back and forth in front of Jane.  “I gave the order for Citadel defense to shoot him down, but C-Sec headquarters countermanded it, more concerned about the hostages and civilian casualties if the ship was destroyed so close to the Citadel.  I told them those hostages were dead anyway, that he’d just use them to make more organs, but they wouldn’t listen.”

Jane held her tongue for a moment, though her head shook back and forth.  “Damn, Garrus.  That’s a hell of a call to have to make.”  She sighed.  “But I can see their point.  Couldn’t you go after the ship and disable it once it was out of range of the Citadel?  Less risk.”

“They sent the military after him, but he got away just the same,” Garrus explained.  “I went to the Executor afterwards and made it clear what I thought of him and his policies.  He said if I didn’t like it I could quit.”  Garrus sighed.  “I almost did.  All they had to do was disable the ship, stop Saleon from running.  Either way you’ll end up with casualties -- the hostages then or later.”

“It’s a tough call,” Jane said, “and one I know I wouldn’t want to make.  Still, you have to take the hostages into consideration.  Trust me, Garrus, if you don’t, then you are just as bad as Saleon.”

He seemed startled by that observation, but Jane watched his head tilt again as he considered her words.  “It doesn’t make it any easier,” he said after a time as they neared the market district, “but I do see your point.  I just wish I could have stopped him is all.”

“I know.”  They passed the hall leading to _Flux_ when she asked, “Do you have any idea what happened to him after that?”

“Oh, I sent out feelers from time to time,” he told her, “hoping to find something.  Once, I thought I did.  He’d changed ships and his name -- to Dr. Heart, of all things, can you believe it?  I told the military, but they weren’t convinced it was him.  I got the transponder frequency for his new ship, though.  I just can’t get anyone to check it out.”

Jane halted and looked up at him.  “Is that what you were doing back there at C-Sec?” she asked.  

“One of the things, yes,” he replied.  “Why?”

Jane’s lips curved slightly.  “Give me the coordinates when we get back to the _Normandy_ ,” she told him.  “I’ll see what I can do when we get a chance.”

His mandibles flickered a little into a smile.  “To be honest, I was hoping you’d say that.  Thanks.”  He opened the door and followed her through.  “But for now, why don’t I introduce you to my merchant?”

The stall wasn’t too far into the district, Jane soon discovered, and though it was on the main thoroughfare, it didn’t appear most of them were interested in his wares.  Jane darted a quick look up at Garrus.  “A volus?” she murmured skeptically.  

Garrus chuckled.  “Trust me, Commander, he’s got his ways.”

Jane sighed.  “Well, he’s got to be better than the hanar over on the Presidium.”

“You mean Delan?”  Garrus continued to laugh.  “Well, he tries at least.  I’ll give him that much.”

During their visit, as Jane listened in to the conversation between the volus and Garrus, Jane’s ear also caught the sound of familiar lumbering footsteps approaching from behind.  Glancing back, she found Wrex joining them.  “In need of a few mods, Wrex?” she asked.  At the same time, she fished out a credit chit from her pocket and handed it over to Garrus.  “Use it,” she told him with a smile.  “Spectre’s orders.”

Wrex gave her a curious look.  “I’m always willing to test out the newest and best equipment, Shepard,” he replied with a grin.

Jane laughed and nodded at the volus who turned to retrieve a few other items.  “You timed that just right then.”

Garrus turned towards Wrex and reached out to hand him a small datapad.  The krogan took it, Jane noticed, read it, and nodded.  “In more ways than one,” he replied to Jane.

That statement was too tempting to let pass.  “Oh?  Something going on?”

“Just some unfinished family business,” he rumbled as the volus returned and laid out a few things.  “Nothing I can’t handle.”

Jane looked up at Garrus who pointedly glanced away from her.  Turning back to the counter, she rested her elbows along the edge and watched the krogan investigate the products before him.  “What kind of business?”

Wrex ignored her, preferring to finish his evaluation first.  After deciding on two of the items, Jane then handed him her credit chit and nodded.  He paid for the goods and collected them while she pocketed the receipts and her chit for later accounting purposes.  “So?” she repeated as they started walking away.

Wrex sighed.  “An oath I made to my father’s father before I left Tuchanka,” he rumbled.  “I swore to recover my family’s battle armor.  It was taken from him by the turian military after the uprising.”

Jane frowned.  “What’s so important about this armor?  If it’s that old, it’d be useless today, wouldn’t it?”

Wrex nodded.  “It’s a relic,” he agreed.  “But it was worn by five generations of my family before the war.  It’s rightfully mine.  And now it’s in the hands of a turian scum called Tonn Actus who collects relics from the war.  He’s made millions selling artifacts that were stolen from my people.  He’s got several bases where he stores goods, all fortified and guarded.  I just didn’t know which base has my family’s armor.”  He glanced over at Garrus.  “Until now.”

It didn’t take Jane much to figure out that Garrus was the source of that information.  “Give it to me and I’ll make sure we get there,” she told him.

He grunted.  “I’ll upload the data to your nav system when I get back on board.  But, Commander, I want to be there when you find him.”

Jane nodded.  “Count on it,” she told him.  She eyed him curiously for a moment.  “Do you mind me asking why it was left to you to make that promise?  Why not your father?”  Wrex’s grunt gave clear indication of his negative thoughts to that end of things.  “Okay … clearly, I missed something.”

“Let me tell you a story, Shepard,” Wrex started.  

Garrus chuckled.  “A krogan storyteller?  Now _this_ I _have_ to hear.”

Wrex gave Garrus a brief but dark glare before turning his attention back to Jane.  “I left Tuchanka and became a mercenary because I was betrayed,” he stated.  “There was nothing left for me there.”

Jane nodded.  “Okay.  Who betrayed you?”

“Jarrod.  I was head of a small tribe,” he explained.  “After the war, we were trying to restore order, to rebuild, but the other tribes were against us.  They followed Jarrod.  He was one of the few warriors who survived the war with the turians, but he was old.  So were his ideas.”

Jane’s head tilted.  She knew little enough about the krogan and their culture.  This was an opportunity to learn more.  “What were his ideas?”

Wrex sighed.  “He wanted to continue the war.  For us to fight -- turians, salarians, each other.  It didn’t matter, just so long as we were fighting.”

_Ah_.  “And what did you want?” she asked.

“I just wanted Jarrod to shut up and stop his ranting.  I wanted him to quit leading the tribes astray.”  Wrex shook his head.  “He just couldn’t understand how much things had changed.  We didn’t have the numbers to go to war, and even if we did, the genophage made sure we couldn’t replenish them fast enough.  I tried to convince them to forget about war -- that we needed to focus on breeding for at least a generation before we could reconsider it.  Some of the tribes started to come around and listen.”

Jane guessed, “And Jarrod didn’t appreciate that.”  It was a statement, not a question.

“No, he didn’t,” Wrex replied.  “He arranged a Crush with the tribes.”

“What’s a Crush?” Jane asked, unfamiliar with the term.

Wrex nodded.  “It’s a meeting on neutral ground.  Jarrod wanted to talk, and so he arranged one at the Hollows, near the graves of our ancestors.  The skulls of our dead laid bare to remind us where we come from, and where we all go.  It’s as sacred as any krogan place can be, and violence is forbidden.”

Jane bit her lip, the hackles on the back of her neck rising.  “Which makes it the perfect place and opportunity for a trap,” she pointed out.  “Surely you saw that?”

Wrex sighed again.  “I did,” he assured her, “but when your father invites you to a Crush …  Well, there’s some laws even we hold sacred.”

_Ouch_.  Jane winced.  “Jarrod was your father.”  

“He was -- until that day,” he told her.  “We talked, but we didn’t get anywhere.  When it became clear to him I wasn’t going to join him, he gave a signal and his men leapt from the graves of our ancestors like krogan undead.  The few loyal to me died quickly and I escaped with my life, and this,” he pointed to the clawing jagged scar that decorated his face, “but not before I sank my dagger deep into my father’s chest.  That’s why I left … and why I won’t ever go back.”

Jane’s head bobbed up and down twice.  “And why you wouldn’t have expected him to go for the armor.”

“Exactly.”  Wrex paused for a moment, his head swiveling to look at Garrus.  “How’s _that_ for a story?”

Garrus blinked.  “Well … it’s not krogan poetry, I’ll give it that much.”

Wrex barked out a laugh that Jane swore she could feel rumble through the floor before pounding Garrus on his back with his hand.  “You’re not too bad for a turian,” he said.  “At least you try to have a sense of humor.”

Jane tried to bite back laughter, but a half-laugh half-squeak escaped despite her efforts.  She ignored the look each gave her when they heard it, instead saying, “Just get me the coordinates and we’ll see what we can do about finding the armor.”  

They parted ways after that, and after a quick jaunt around the market area to see if her husband was still in the area, Jane returned to the _Normandy_.  Once aboard, she pulled out the datapad from Anderson and input the coordinates into the navigation system.  She was still standing in the CIC, hips leaning against the terminal, when John boarded a short while later.  “Hey, good lookin’,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss her cheek, “what’s up?”

Jane laughed and playfully swatted him away while handing over the datapad.  “Take a look at that.  I couldn’t find Anderson at the embassy, but he left that for me.  Thoughts?”

His eyes skimmed the details before meeting hers again.  “Not much to go on,” he said.  “Some might say there’s absolutely nothing to be worried about.”

Jane nodded her agreement with his assessment.  “I know,” she replied.  “But, it worries me that there’s been no contact with anyone on that asteroid for so long now.”  She sighed and looked up at him.  She had good memories of her time served on Terra Nova and would readily admit it was likely fueling her concern.

“Hmm.  I agree.”  He handed the datapad back to her.  “No matter what the situation -- a simple delay or a major problem -- someone ought to be able to respond.”

Jane nodded again.  “And there’s an Alliance engineering team on site, too.  They’re the ones responsible for getting it into orbit around Terra Nova.  Except … well, if they’ve been attacked, that could explain why they haven’t responded to hails,” she pointed out.  “Or maybe some other catastrophic event that doesn’t necessarily result in the destruction of the asteroid itself?  Whatever happened, it’s left us with an asteroid flying in on a trajectory and potentially at a speed that can annihilate an entire colony.”  

“The engineers ought to have brought blasting caps with them,” he added.  “Maybe something stronger.  If we can’t get the asteroid to slow down and drop into orbit, perhaps we can use something like that to destroy it.  I didn’t see an ETA on that thing, did you?”

Jane shook her head.  “No.  Probably depends on if the torches are engaged and at what speed.”  She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.  “Sounds a little like a ICT mission, don’t you think?”

John chuckled.  “Of one kind or another, yeah.”  He reached around her and tapped a command into the terminal.  “Okay, looks like we’ve only got about half the crew back aboard.  I’ll send out a recall message to the rest.  Why don’t you go brief Joker while I take care of this.  We’ll head out just as soon as everyone’s here.”

Jane dropped the datapad back into her pocket and turned towards the bridge.  “Thanks.”  Before stepping away, she asked, “Oh, did you get your new toy?”

John gave her a wide grin which was enough of an answer in itself.  “Maybe I’ll get to test it out when we get to this asteroid X57.”

Shaking her head at his enthusiasm, Jane headed to the bridge.

 


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks to guileandgall for looking through this chapter for me! Any problems that still remain are mine and mine alone!

Jane needed someplace quiet.  Dark.  Alone.  But on a frigate with full crew compliment, space and privacy were a rare thing to find.    

_ Sometimes you need to get someone’s attention before they’ll listen. _

Jane stumbled through the doorway to the observation deck.  The lights were out and that was a good sign.  She didn’t hear any voices or movement.  

_ If you want to live, I suggest you step aside. _

Jane paused halfway across the room, lifting the bottle in her hand and downing a good swig.  It burned a fiery path down her throat and into her belly, but she didn’t care.  Later, maybe, but not now.  Right now she just wanted to silence the voices that wouldn’t stop inside her head.

_ Let a terrorist go, or sacrifice innocent lives.  I’m glad that’s not a choice I had to make. _

She dropped to the space against the wall, half hidden between two chairs but it offered some sort of separation.  Coming on the heels of her conversation with Garrus about Dr. Saleon, this mission was a reminder of the cost of making the right choices.  Question was, which choice was the right one?

“You have to take the hostages into consideration or you’re just as bad as they are,” she croaked out before taking another long pull from the bottle.  She shuddered violently and her eyes closed.  God, she hated this stuff!  

“Bastard!” she hissed.  But when Balak’s face appeared, sharp and crisp behind closed eyelids, they popped back open with an angry gasp of rage.  

_ DAMMIT ALL TO HELL, I LET HIM GO! _

With a roar of anger-filled pain, Jane pounded her free hand against the floor.  This wasn’t hypocrisy, she didn’t think.  Balak’s name was new, but his actions and those of his men were strikingly familiar.  Mindoir.  Elysium.  Countless other attacks against humans or human colonies over the years.  He was a known quantity in the Alliance, and someday he  _ would _ get taken down.  Today might have been that day except for …

“Commander?”

The voice was hesitant and soft, but Jane caught it.  Recognized it.  Groaned aloud with that because being alone to get drunk and drown her sorrows just wasn’t in the books, it seemed.  “Over here, Chief,” she rasped drunkenly.  Well, more of a solid buzz at the moment, but she’d get there come hell or high water.  She took one final pull from the bottle in a gesture of defiance before setting it aside.  The general haziness she was already feeling was just enough to make walking more difficult than usual.

The door to the observation lounge opened with a soft hiss and Williams cautiously stepped inside.  The lights were out, but the muffled bumps and thuds and a sudden hissed curse indicated someone was present.  Without touching the lights, figuring if whoever was here wanted them on they’d have done so, the Chief took another step.  Lack of lights made navigating the room a little more difficult, but she took her time and managed to cross the room safely enough.  Finding the commander, she greeted her with a soft, “Hey,” while dropping into one of the chairs.  Reaching a hand over to her omni-tool, she casually pressed a couple of buttons.

Jane’s eyes lifted, tilting slightly to the left in an effort to bring the intruder into focus.   _ Okay, that’s a little better _ .  There weren’t actually three of her sitting in that chair -- Jane knew that.  She was slightly surprised the alcohol had kicked in so easily from one minute to the next and hastily made a mental note to check which brand of whiskey John’d had stashed in the desk in their cabin.  ‘For Medicinal Use Only’ covered a lot of ground, and she knew her husband liked some pretty hard stuff at times.  “Hhhey,” she managed in reply.   _ Definitely better. _  “Whaa’ssup?”

Williams turned sideways in the chair to face Jane, folding her legs across one another.  “You okay?” she asked.  She’d been part of the ground team with the Skipper on the asteroid with Liara.  Wrex, Garrus and Alenko had assisted the Spectre with the batarians.

Jane shrugged.  “ _ C’est la vie _ ,” she muttered.  “Goessss with the job.”

Frowning, Williams reached over and retrieved the bottle from Jane’s hand.  Squinting, she made out enough of the label to identify the product, and made a face.  “Christ, Commander!” she breathed.  “This stuff’ll kill you!  How much have you had?”

Again Jane shrugged.  The bottle’d been full when she opened it in the cabin.  Lifting her hand, she counted off how many times she’d taken a swig.  She was up to four fingers when Williams added, “The bottle’s half empty!”

_ Ahhh … that explains it. _  “Sssooo I’ll buy a replaaashment.”

The swish of the door opening behind her appeared to escape the commander just then, but Williams heard it and looked back over her shoulder.  Alenko entered first followed by the Skipper.   _ Good thing, too. _  Williams had no medical training, and if they needed to get the commander back on her feet fast, Alenko might have an idea how to do so.  All she could think of was drowning her in coffee.

“Thanks, Chief,” John murmured as he traded places in the chair with her.

Williams smiled at him in sympathy as she unfolded herself and stood.  “Don’t mention it, Skipper.  Just … don’t light any matches while you’re in here.  Not unless you want your brows singed.”

“I’ll take that under advisement,” he countered, accepting the bottle of rotgut whiskey she handed him.  John grimaced and set it aside out of his wife’s reach.  It figured Jane had come across it in their cabin.  He’d done little to really hide it well.  He’d originally intended it for situations such as this … only for him, rather than her.  Jane wasn’t much of a drinker.  Neither was he, when it came down to it, but he at least could tolerate it to some degree.

Out of the corner of his eye, John noticed Alenko approaching quietly.  The lieutenant remained in the shadows and out of Jane’s immediate line of sight.  An interesting tactic, John thought, and one that wouldn’t work if Jane was sober.  Little if anything got past her.  John often teased her that she should have been an Infiltrator rather than a Sentinel because of it.  But now …?

“Whyyy’re you here?”

John snorted softly, a sound of amusement more than anything.  “Why wouldn’t I be?” he countered easily.  “I was worried about you.”

“Pfffffft!”  Jane lifted her hand to wave his concerns off and her eyes followed the odd flopping arc it made as a result.   _ That’s new _ .  

“And before you tell me there’s nothing to worry about, I think that just proved otherwise,” he added while pointing at her hand.

“I’mmm jus’ kickin’ back an’ relaxin’,” she slurred, head lolling back to prop up against the wall as she looked at him.  Her head tilted slightly a moment later and she now saw … five of him.  “Hol’ still!”

John’s brow arched.  “I’m not moving,” he told her.  He was rewarded by a narrowing of her eyes and a sharp glare.  Grinning, he leaned forward, closing the distance between them.  “You are in quite a state, you know that?”

Jane sniffed and snorted.  “Iffff you tell me I’m in the sssstate of denial, I’m gonna file for a divorccce!”

Rather than taking offense, John’s grin widened.  “You’d have to get to your feet first,” he pointed out logically, “and I doubt you can manage that without assistance right now.”

“Can too!”  She followed her protest with an attempt to push herself away from the wall.  Instead, she slipped and her head fell back and connected with a solid thud.  “Ouch!”

“Told you,” he said.

“I hate you!”  It was barely more than a grumble as she was struggling to get her hand up behind her head to rub at the sore spot.  All it resulted in was a comical series of arm waving and half-slaps, and eventually her hand back in her lap.

“Going to try for round two, or have you had enough?” he asked.  He ignored the growling noise that escaped the back of her throat.  It wasn’t much of a threat.  He could see her eyes weren’t focused yet.  “How many?” he asked.

Jane lurched forward -- unpredictable as well as unexpected response -- but John held his ground.  She came close to him, rising up on her knees just long enough to get within eye level.  Only, her knees gave out, or maybe it was her hips, and she started falling.  Reaching over, he caught her beneath her arms.  “Gotcha!”

The growl repeated, followed by, “... hhhate you!”

Chuckling, John rose from the chair and assisted Jane to her feet.  “So you said.”  He guided her to sit in the chair instead.  “So, feel like explaining what brought this on?”

“Fffucking batarians!” she managed, collapsing into the cushioned seat.  

John sighed.  It figured it would come back around to this.  From the moment he’d heard about Balak, he wondered if this might be a trigger for her.  “You got everyone out safely, didn’t you?”  Reasoning with her in this condition wasn’t likely to work, but he could hope.

“Did I?” she countered.  She tried to push herself up again, this time with more success using the arms of the chair for leverage.  “At wha’ cost?”

“Better to get them out safely now,” he argued, “than have their deaths on your conscience.”

It seemed that was the last straw.  “How do I know he wasn’ the … the one who killed my mother?!” she shouted back in agony, doubling over and dropping to her knees.  John immediately crouched on one knee next to her, resting his hand at her shoulder.  “Doesitevenmatter?  How many others have we los’ to those bastards over the years, John?  Innocen’sss?  Alliance personnel?”

“Jane --”

But he underestimated just how deep this went for her.  Jerking her shoulder away from his touch, she shouted at the top of her lungs, “Do. Not. Patronize. ME!”

John blinked in shock.  “I wasn’t!” he protested.  “All I said was your name!”

“In a very patttronizing tone!”  He was too close just now and her anger was being fueled by the alcohol.  She knew that, but her head wasn’t in control just now.  Reaching out, she shoved him hard on his shoulder and watched him fall backwards.  Alenko, still nearby, remained silent and still.  Very, very still.  “How mmany more do I have to lose to these guys before sssomeone realizes they aren’t going to play nicccce?”

Sighing in exasperation because John knew Jane’s usual view was much more tolerant and diplomatic, he reached a hand up to run through his hair.  “Look, it was a tough call, okay?  I get that and I’m sorry.  Sorrier than you can understand right now.  But, honey, we’ve both had to make tough calls over the years, and --”

Her eyes narrowed, but the pain in her voice was raw.  “Not like thisss you haven’t!” she insisted.  Sudden clarity and impact of her decision on that asteroid hit her full on in that moment.  Hands rising, she covered her face, her eyes the only part peeking over the tops of her fingers at him and they were wide with grief and horror.  “Oh, God, John!” she gasped, all slurring gone as she spoke.  “Take the terroris’ bassstard down or save the innocen’ engineersss?  What the hell kind of choice is  _ tha’ _ to have to mmmake?  And what about the people on Terra Nova?  He was going to destroy a colony!  They wouldn’ave ssstood a chance!  And now, thanksss to me,  _ ME!, _ he’s gotten away ssso he can try again!”

Jane inhaled deeply and opened her mouth to continue her rant, but an unexpected sob escaped instead.  From that moment, she couldn’t stop it.  Wrapping her arms around her middle, she fell back against the edge of the chair, huddling and pulling her legs up to her chest.  Resting her head against her knees, she gave into the fury of the storm taking over and just let it flow.

John glanced over at Alenko and nodded at him.  The lieutenant stepped forward then and knelt on Jane’s other side.  John pulled her onto his lap while Alenko rolled up her sleeve.  John watched the lieutenant give her the shot and was a little surprised that Jane didn’t even notice.  Then again, as absorbed as she was by her outburst, the ship could have blown up around them and she might not have noticed.  

Once done, Alenko rose and turned towards the door.  “Thanks,” John called over.

“It should kick in pretty quickly,” Alenko advised.  “If you need anything, just let me or the doctor know.”  

Violence came in all shapes and sizes.  It could be seen in movement, actions, sound.  At the moment, Jane was exhibiting signs in all three ways.  Inside, he was cringing at the toll it was taking on her.  She was one of the strongest people he knew.  He wasn’t surprised that she’d hit her limit and hit it hard so much as he was shocked at just what a toll it was taking on her.  Broken wasn’t a word he used lightly when describing soldiers who reached such a point, but to his way of thinking, Jane was just that.  Thing was, he knew it to be more than just because of Balak and his group of terrorists.  This was more than the millions of colonists on Terra Nova who would likely never know what they just barely escaped, or the engineers who had been manipulated into such a position to begin with.  This dated back to their disastrous honeymoon on Elysium … their misadventures in London … her mother dying in the line of duty on Mindoir … her father dying due to a freak accident at ICT.  This was a life’s worth of personal pain and anguish and fear that Jane had suddenly and unexpectedly had thrown at her.

As predicted by Alenko, the meds kicked in fairly quickly.  Her sobs calmed, devolving into small hiccup noises as she sagged in John’s arms.  The tears ran dry after a while, though it would take time for both their uniforms to completely dry.  Once her breathing evened out to a steady rhythm, John carefully rose to his feet, his wife in his arms.  Exiting the observation deck, he quietly moved towards their cabin.  Inside, he set her on their bed and took the time to remove her boots, loosen her belt, and then covered her with the blanket.  Afterwards, he took a seat at the table nearby, dropping heavily into a chair and just watching her sleep.  Never before had he witnessed Jane react in such a way.  It frightened him in ways he couldn’t even begin to express -- to himself, let alone anyone else -- and in the end it left him feeling vulnerable.  God only knew how Jane would feel when this was all over.  He just hoped it wouldn’t hold her back at all from the job they still had to do.  He didn’t expect that it would.  Then again, he hadn’t expected this sort of reaction from her now, either.  Only time would tell, he supposed.

A soft beep from his omnitool had John glancing at his wrist.  Across the room, he heard a similar sound from Jane’s.  She was too far gone at the moment to respond, so he opened the display and read,  _ incoming message from Admiral Hackett, Fifth Fleet -- highest priority _ .  Rising to his feet, John moved to the far side of the room.  He didn’t believe he would disturb Jane, but he didn’t want to take any chances.  Pressing the button to connect his earpiece to the channel, he murmured quietly, “John Shepard here, Admiral.”

“Where’s the Commander?” the Admiral asked.

John’s eyes moved across the room.  “She’s indisposed at the moment, sir.  Can I be of assistance?”

A moment later, Hackett said, “I have a rather touchy assignment for you, Shepard.  Both of you.  It’s Alliance specific and you’ll want to pick your team accordingly.”

John blinked.  That statement told him more than enough.  “Can you send me the details?” he asked.  “I can brief Jane when she’s free and in the meantime we can start in that direction.”

A soft buzz at his wrist indicated the text information had come through.  “Keep it as quiet as possible, Commander,” Hackett said sternly.  “If wind of this gets out to the press ….”

John skimmed over the information.  “Shit,” he breathed.  “Understood, sir.  We’ll get right on it.”  He pressed the button to open the door and exited the room.  Outside his cabin, he spotted Alenko and waved the LT over.  “Anything else we should know?”

“We don’t want the Citadel to hear about this if we can possibly help it,” Hackett emphasized.  

As John listened to the admiral go on, he tilted his wrist so Alenko could see the basic information.  “Go get Chief Williams,” he told Alenko.  “Meet me in the Comm Room as soon as you can.”

“Got it, sir.”  Alenko darted off towards the elevator.

“Admiral,” John told Hackett as he started up the stairs towards the CIC, “we’ll take care of this and be in touch.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.  Hackett out.”

Stepping up to the galaxy map, John input the coordinates for Agebinium.  “Joker?”

“I see it,” the pilot responded.  “Voyager Cluster in our sights.”

“Let me know when we hit the relay,” John told him.  They’d still have the time it took to get to the Amazon System and then Agebinium itself for Jane to get herself awake and fully functional.  That was plenty of time.  

“What’s up, Skipper?”

Turning, John found Williams and Alenko waiting for him over near the door to the Comm Room.  “You’re going to love this one,” he told them dryly.

The look the Chief gave him back told him she doubted that.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The latest installment for Shepshep.  I will do my best to keep this flowing weekly, but I’ve just started leading into Virmire with the writing, so things may slow down … again.  *sighs*

 

Jane’s eyes darted around the open cavern as they passed through searching for anything out of the ordinary.  The space was empty, for all intents and purposes, save for assorted gear, shipping containers and other junk that proved _some_ one had been there.  Just how recent that had been was more difficult to tell.

“Thinking this might be a trap?”

John’s question tugged at something in the back of Jane’s mind, but she couldn’t bring it into focus and that had little to do with any lingering after effects of her recent drinking binge.  “A ‘mission complete’ alert for a probe that by all rights should be on the opposite side of the galaxy from here and an empty base out in the middle of the Terminus?” she challenged.  “Nahhh.  I’m just waiting for the party to begin.”

John snorted.  Jane’s level of sarcasm was on the high end of things for the day.   _That_ didn’t bode well.  For the bad guys -- if there were any -- at least.  For the rest of them?  Who knew?

“There’s a door over here, Commander,” Alenko called across the open cavern.  “It’s secured, but I think I can crack it.”

Jane glanced over at her husband, a smirk curling at her lips.  “An open invitation for us?  What’re the odds?”

The locking mechanism Alenko fiddled with was just going green by the time Jane, John and Williams arrived.  Jane entered first -- just in case it was a trap because she’d be damned if she was going to lose her people if it was; and who knew, maybe Balak would be in there waiting? -- but as soon as she was a few steps inside, she spotted the device Admiral Hackett had briefed them on.  “Well, what do you know.  Looks like it’s here,” she said.  A brief glance around the area provided nothing else of any import.

Just outside the door, John holstered his weapon and lifted a hand to his comm.  “I’ll head back up and alert Joker that we’ll be --”

A loud, thunderous boom shook the walls and ground beneath their feet.  Jane’s hand darted out, and for a moment she nearly lost her balance, but she managed to prop herself against one of the walls.  

Williams, on the other hand, did go down, falling hard to her knees and grunting in pain.  “What the hell?” she muttered as she pushed herself to her feet.  

Nearby, Alenko was also half leaning against one of the walls.  “That was a detonator, Commander,” he announced.

“Son of a _BITCH!_ ”  Fury like nothing she’d felt for a very long time surged through her as she spun around.  John had still been in the corridor just outside the room when the blast hit.  Behind him Jane could see signs of rock and fallen debris piled up, though it didn’t look to be blocking their exit from the chamber.  “You okay?”

“Fuck!” he breathed, his eyes drifting to his wife’s.  “What the hell is going on?”

“Nothing good,” Williams interjected.

Jane opened her mouth to respond when the flickering of a holo nearby brought a hazy image into focus.  Frowning, the Spectre tossed a quick glance over at her husband, but he looked just as confused.  Alenko and Williams were showing signs of similar reactions.  No help from that quarter, then.

Jane turned her attention back to the holo.  The man on the screen didn’t look familiar.  Then again, the image was distorted enough a positive ID wouldn’t come from looks alone.  “Shepard.  At last.”

Jane blinked.  That he knew who she was didn’t bother her.  Ever since the Skyllian Blitz her face had been plastered everywhere in an effort to bolster recruitment numbers for the Systems Alliance.  It would only be peculiar if he _didn’t_ recognize her to her way of thinking.  But the arrogance behind the man’s manner quickly ate away at what little patience she had left.  “I assume you caused the cave in?  What’s the meaning of this?”

“My name is Elanos Haliat.  I doubt you know it.”

Jane stared owlishly at the holo, unwilling to dignify the statement with a response.  Even if the name _was_ familiar -- which it wasn’t -- she wasn’t about to justify it with a response.

“Who do you think runs the Terminus Clans, Shepard?  Hmm?  Thousands of pirates, slavers, criminals of every stripe?”

Straightening, Jane folded her arms across her chest.  Of the four of them, only John was standing out of visual range for the holo, she noticed.  She half thought to signal him to trace the source, but that would have brought him into visual range and she didn’t want to play all her cards just yet.  “You assume I give a damn,” she replied dryly.  “That’s cute.”  A soft snicker whispered forward from behind her and Jane suspected it came from Williams.  Alenko was more controlled than that.

“The strongest leads,” Haliat told her.  “The one who kills the most men.  Seizes the most ships.  Pillages the most colonies.”

Jane rolled her eyes, uncaring that he could see her do so.  “Let me guess,” she said, “you’re a modern day Viking.  Am I supposed to be impressed?”

Haliat’s brows narrowed.  “Seven years ago, I was the strongest.  I used my influence to assemble a fleet.  We would drive your kind out of the Verge.”

_Seven years ago …._  Brow lifting, Jane whispered, “You organized the attack on Elysium.”  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw John’s head dart around as he stared at her.  Both had vivid memories of _that_ adventure.  “So … what?  You wanting me to thank you for my Star of Terra or something?”  

“I was the motivator,” Haliat continued.  “The instigator.  The one who promised glory and riches for sacking the largest human colony in the cluster.”

Jane snorted.  “Counting your chickens before they hatched?  How’d that work out for you, big guy?” she taunted.  “Did I miss the parade?”

Growling, he continued.  “I was the one blamed when it failed.  Failed because of you and your damnable holding action.”

Her smirk curved into a tight smile, her eyes gleaming now with certainty.  “And I’ll do it again, Haliat,” she promised, her voice low and calm.  Too calm.  “You’ll see me again.  Count on it.”

This time the smile was on his lips.  “I rather doubt that, Shepard.  Goodbye.”

The holo faded out, but Jane was already looking around the space.  “Come on, we’ve got to find a way out of here.  Now.  Someone up there needs my boot up his ass.  Look around for anything we can use to --”

A sharp beep from the far side of the room echoed throughout the area.  Jane winced even as she turned towards it.  Alenko was already moving in the direction, and John stepped further into the room.  “Remote trigger?” he asked.

Alenko knelt beside the bomb, the target of this mission, and scanned it quickly.  “Only for the timer,” he replied.  Setting his pistol aside, his hands began moving rapidly over the haptic display at one end.  “Commanders, I’m going to need the both of you to help me with this,” he announced.

John followed immediately, but Jane called over to Williams, “Go look and see if you can find us a way out of here.”  When Williams hesitated a fraction of a second, her eyes glued to the bomb, Jane shouted, “Now, Chief!  I don’t intend to wait around while that ass escapes!”

“Aye aye, Commander!”

Hustling over, Jane dropped to the panel and set her weapon aside.  “What am I doing?” she asked.

“Just take off the cover and follow my instructions.  We’ve got a short time to do this, but it can be done,” he told them.

Time around her slowed as she focused on the panel before her.  Alenko kept his cool and guided both her and John through the disarming procedures.  She didn’t look at the timer itself -- knowing how much was left wouldn’t have helped anything -- and instead trusted the lieutenant to keep them within the parameters.   _Otherwise I’ll be chewing him out for all eternity from hell,_ she thought.  

Four and a half tense, sweat-drenching minutes later, Alenko sat back on his heels and sighed.  Wiping his brow with his forearm, he announced, “That did it.  Thanks for the assist.”

John clapped the lieutenant on one shoulder.  “Alenko, I don’t care what port we end up at next, first five rounds are on me,” he promised.  Glancing over at Jane afterwards, he asked, “You okay?”

Jane paused a moment to consider his question before replying.  “Yeah,” she told him, half a smile curving upwards.  “I’m good.”

Leaning over, John gave her a quick kiss on the lips.  “So.  Haliat.”

Jane snorted.  “Puffed up, self-important bastard,” she muttered.  “No wonder they all turned on him!”

John grinned.  “Do I get to do the legwork this time?  Or is it going to be like our honeymoon?”

Rising to her feet, Jane offered him a hand.  She did the same for Alenko.  “Like I said, the man needs a boot up his ass and I intend to give it to him.”

“Skipper, I found a door that looks like it leads out the back of the cavern.  It needs some jimmying, though.  I can’t get it to budge,” Williams called from the top of the tunnel.

“On my way, Chief,” Alenko responded.  

John moved up beside his wife as they followed.  “We’ll retrieve the probe after we deal with Haliat,” he told her.  

Jane nodded.  “Damn right.”

It took very short time for Alenko to bypass the locking mechanism, and as they climbed outside, Jane drew in a deep breath.  It didn’t matter that the climate of Agebinium required they wear their helmets on the surface, just the thought of drawing a deep breath of clean, fresh air was enough to lift her spirits.  

“There they are,” Williams announced, stepping over to the edge of the ledge they were on.  She pointed below.  “I count … three, four, five …”

“Plus Haliat,” Jane chimed in, her hand drifting more to the left.  Eyeing the surrounding area, she spotted a familiar vehicle below, too.  “Oh, hell, that’s it.  They took the Mako!  Payback is gonna be sweet.”

“What?”  John stepped up behind her and Williams.  It didn’t take long for him to spot the Mako, now parked beside one of the pirates’ vehicles in the middle of their compound.  “Well, that was a dumb ass move.”  The humor in his tone was obvious.

“Yeah,” Jane continued for him.  “No one goes stealing my ride and gets away with it.”

Snorting, Ashley pulled out her sniper rifle.  Sighting it, she murmured, “We’ve got good height up here, Commander.  What do you want to do?”

Jane turned to face John, eyeing him knowingly.  “Wanna get up close and personal like, Hopalong?” she asked, teasing him with the nickname she’d given him after Elysium.  “I figure you owe Haliat about as much as I do for the injury you took at on our honeymoon.”

John nodded and reached for his shotgun.  “‘Hell, yeah, I’m with you.  Alenko?”

“I do better up close,” he agreed and shrugged.  “It’s a biotic thing.”

Jane chuckled.  “Same here, LT.  Same here.  Okay, here’s the plan.  Williams, give us time to get around to the far side to come up from behind them.  Once you see us clear the rise, open fire.  I don’t care which target you go for, just don’t hit us!”

Williams effected a wounded sound.  “Aww, Commander, don’t you have any faith in me by now?”  She knelt down and moved to a prone position as John and Alenko started off down the hill.  

Patting the Chief on the shoulder, Jane retorted, “Sure I do.  I don’t just let anyone shoot in my general direction during combat, you know!”

It took them about fifteen agonizingly slow minutes to get into place.  As they passed the Mako, Jane half considered suggesting John try to slip inside and use the cannon against the pirates, but changed her mind.  Too much of a good thing was just as dangerous as not enough.  

Climbing over the rise, Jane whispered through her radio, “Now, Williams!”  The first shot made contact with a humanoid form on the far side of the compound.  All eyes were pulled away from the area where Jane, John and Alenko came up.  Once topside, they split into two groups -- Alenko and John scrambled across to the far side and Jane used the cover of the tent to hide her from view as she scurried towards the front.  Peeking around the edge, she spotted a krogan with his back to her.  First, she tossed a grenade.  That brought his barriers down immediately.  A moment later, as soon as she could lift her weapon into position, she began shooting.  Krogan were difficult to take down at the best of times, and even though she’d had an advantage, it was now lost.  Another shot rang out, hitting the krogan from behind even as Jane was backing up a step or two, her shields taking the brunt of the damage.  From the angle, Jane knew it had to be Williams.  The krogan paused, and a moment later, another grenade, this time from the far side, caught him from his right.  One more shot from Jane and he finally went down for good.  

As the others took out the remaining pirates and snipers, Jane spotted Haliat.  Using the shipping containers to her advantage, she kept out of his line of vision even after he spotted her.  She’d take a shot, duck behind cover, then dart around to the other side of the container and take another shot.  At first, it seemed to confuse him, but by the third time she was trying it, he caught on.  Out in the open, he advanced on her.  He ignored the shot that came from behind him, his shields soaking the damage and holding.  Jane used a biotic throw on him which worked, but not for long, and once he was back on the ground, he scrambled almost immediately to his feet.  

A sudden movement from her far left came barrelling over and barrelled itself into Haliat’s side, taking him down and pinning the pirate to the ground.   _John_.  Shaking her head, Jane hurried over.  John held Haliat on the ground as the pirate protested loudly, and Alenko moved in, restraints at the ready.  As the two secured him, Jane pleaded to Alenko, “Tell me you can shut him up!”

Alenko replied with a saucy smirk and Jane sighed in relief.  Turning away, she pressed the comm on her helmet.  “Okay, Chief, come on down.  We’ll load up the Mako and head back to the _Normandy_.”

“What about our … guest, Commander?” Williams asked.  

“I’ve contacted Joker to alert Fifth Fleet,” John replied.  He and Alenko hefted a now silent Haliat to his feet.  “I’ve had him send down a squad of marines to keep an eye on things until they show up.  They have to secure the probe for transport, right?  Might as well leave him a gift wrapped Haliat for them as well.”

The patrol arrived within a half hour.  “Ma’am,” Saunders, the lead marine, saluted.  “Joker said Fifth Fleet has arrived and will be down here shortly.”

Jane blinked.  “Wow, that was quick.”

Saunders nodded.  “Joker made it sound as if the admiral was pretty sure you could take care of things like always, ma’am.  They were arriving almost before we got the Commander’s call to send us down.”

Chuckling, Jane shook her head.  “I suppose that’s a backhanded compliment,” she murmured.  “I’d hate to know what he would think if we hadn’t defused that bomb in time.”

Saunders shrugged.  “The way we figure it, ma’am, it wasn’t an option.”

Pausing, Jane glanced over at the marine.  “Now, Saunders,” she teased lightly, “you aren’t trying to butter me up, are you?”

“No, ma’am!”  His frame bolted straight up, hand rising to salute.  

Jane reached out and caught it, chuckling softly.  “Relax, marine,” she told him.  Sighing, she told him, “It’s alright.  It’s just been one hell of a week.”

“Understood, ma’am.”

Leaving Saunders to his detail, Jane headed over to the Mako and climbed inside.  Williams was stowing their equipment, Alenko had already fallen into the navigation seat and John was sitting up front.  “Oh no,” she chided her husband, “my ride, I drive.”

John chuckled but didn’t move.  “Consider this your friendly escort home,” he countered.

“John --”

Turning in his seat, he met her challenge full on.  “Buckle up, buttercup,” he told her.  “I’m driving this time.  Besides, I’d say you’ve earned a bit of a break.”

Jane snorted, but fell back into the seat beside Williams and buckled in.  “Liar,” she pouted.  “I know how you all feel about my driving.”

Beside her, Williams chuckled.  “Ma’am, if you think we prefer him over you …?”  She left the sentence hanging as she, too, buckled in.  Alenko remained silent.

“I heard that,” John told them as he shifted the Mako into gear.  

Back aboard ship, Williams shooed Jane off.  “I’ll take care of your equipment, Commander.”

“Commander?”

Jane paused as she turned from Williams’ work table.  “Go ahead, Joker.”

“Admiral Hackett wants to speak with you and the Commander in the Comm Room,” the pilot announced.

Sighing, Jane glanced over at John who was exiting the Mako behind Alenko.  He nodded at her and started over to the elevator.  “Tell him we’re on our way.”  Hustling over, she jumped onto the elevator just before the doors closed behind her.  “He’s not going to like what we have to tell him,” she muttered while beginning to strip off her armor.

In the middle of the same process, John nodded.  “At least we got Haliat for him,” he offered.  “That has to count for something.”

“And that bomb.  Man, I hope there’s not many more of those things floating around out there!”  Jane shuddered at the thought of what could happen if another merc like Haliat got his hands on one.  

The doors opened and the two Commanders ducked over into their cabin to finish changing out of their armor.  John finished first and exited the room.  “I’ll get the call linked up,” he told her.

“Be right there!”  Jane stopped briefly at the mirror and combed her fingers through the tangled mass that was her hair before she, too, headed out.  

“Ma’am!”

Alenko’s shout had Jane spinning around just in time to accept the mug of hot tea he handed her.  Grinning at him, she called back over her shoulder, “Thanks, LT!” then darted up the stairs.

Entering the CIC, Jane could feel the normal electric hum and buzz as she strode towards the Comm Room.  A usual thing, with Fifth Fleet nearby, it didn’t surprise her she could sense it more.  It would take everyone’s full attention to make sure things ran smoothly.  The guards outside the Comm Room bolted to attention as she passed by, one opening the door for her.  Stepping inside, she started down the walkway, the mug in hand.

She nearly spilled the drink down the front of her uniform as she came to a sudden halt.  Shifting hands, her right rose in salute.   _Dammit, Joker, why didn’t you warn me?!_  “Sir!”

“Glad you could join us, Commander,” the admiral greeted her with a smile.  John, beside him, was obviously suppressing laughter.  “I decided given our proximity, I would debrief you in person.”

Swallowing tightly, Jane stepped forward.  “Yes, sir.  You know you’re always welcome aboard the _Normandy_ , sir!”  

There was only the slightest hint of a curve at his lips to indicate his amusement at her reply.  “The bomb is being removed as we speak,” Hackett informed her, “and loaded onto our ship.  We’ll transport it back to Alliance Command.  If there’s anything else to be gleaned from it, we’ll find it.”

Jane sighed softly in relief and nodded.  

“Will it be able to tell us much, sir?” John asked.  

Hackett sighed.  “At this late date, I doubt it, but we’ll check anyway.  I don’t like the fact that a group of pirates ended up with it, I can tell you that much.”

Jane’s eyes flickered over to John’s.  “Did they tell you the man in charge was behind the attack on Elysium?”

Hackett nodded.  “Yes.  Haliat has been taken into custody.  Rest assured, Commander, he will be dealt with.”

“Yes, sir.”

Hackett eyed the both of them.  “This is where I thank you both --”

John cut the man off.  “Sir, that isn’t necessary.”

“He’s right, Admiral,” Jane continued.  

Hackett’s lips pressed into a thin line.  “I don’t make it a habit to take my people for granted, Commanders, especially N7s.”

“We were just doing what we were trained for,” John insisted.

“And we were both at Elysium, as you know,” Jane said.  “This was as important for us to deal with as it was for everyone else’s safety.”

His eyes settled on Jane and she shuffled her feet a bit.  The Admiral chuckled.  “Still don’t like all the attention, do you, Commander?” he asked.

Dropping her eyes to stare into her mug, she shook her head.  “Not really, no,” she grumbled.

“And if the purpose of us using the _Normandy_ for missions such as this is to move in and out of systems silently,” John argued, “then it would defeat the purpose for you to openly acknowledge our part.  Don’t you think?”

Hackett’s brow lifted.  “You both will get the official recommendations you deserve put into your jackets,” he pointed out.

“Just without the fanfare, please,” Jane murmured.  She finally lifted her head.  “Seriously, Admiral, I still deal with the after effects of Elysium on a daily basis.  Add in the Spectre thing, and I can’t go anywhere without someone identifying me.  And that includes the press,” she added.  

“Hmm.”  A buzz at the admiral’s wrist pulled his attention away for a moment, and Jane took the opportunity to step over beside her husband.  “I’m going to strangle Joker, I swear!” she whispered for his ears alone.  His only response was to brush his hand along the outer edge of hers, though Jane suspected he was laughing inside.  He _would_ find  this whole situation amusing.

“Commanders, I must return to my ship.  Whether you want the acclaim or not, it’s there,” he finished.  “A job very well done, indeed.”

Shifting to attention, both John and Jane saluted him.  “Thank you, sir,” they chorused.

After he left the Comm Room, Jane dropped into one of the chairs.  “Christ!” she muttered.

John grabbed the tea from her hands before it could fall to the floor and create a mess.  “You can imagine how _I_ felt walking in here!” he pointed out while taking the seat beside her.  

“Is that why Alenko handed me the mug?” Jane asked, frowning over at him.  

John shook his head.  “I doubt it.  The crew knows you like a cup when up here.  That’s probably all it was.”

“If I find out Joker warned him and not us, I’ll ….”

This time, John did let his laughter out.  “Uh huh.  And lose the best pilot in the Systems Alliance in the process.”

Jane rolled her eyes.  “You believe his shameless self promotion?”

Leaning over, John pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.  “And you don’t?”

John rose to his feet and started towards the door.  He was almost there when he heard Jane say, “I was almost afraid he’d come to relieve me of command.”

Shocked and startled by her admission and noting just how quiet her voice was, he turned around to face her.  “What?” he asked, pausing mid stride.  “Why?”

Taking a deep breath, Jane rose.  “Because of what happened on the asteroid.”

Frowning, John asked, “You mean your drinking after?  He’d have to know about it first.  Besides, he wouldn’t relieve you just for --”

“No,” she cut him off, reaching out to take her tea back as she neared him.  “I mean for my decision to let Balak leave.”

Sighing, John reached out to push her hair away from her face.  Tucking a few strands behind her ear, he murmured, “Honey, it was a tough call and Hackett knows it.  So does Anderson.  It takes a lot of guts to have to face that kind of thing day in and day out.  But you’ve proven over time you can do it without flinching.”  He offered her a smile while dropping his hand.  “That’s why they chose you for Spectre.  You know that, right?”

“John --”

“No, listen,” he insisted, taking her free hand in his and squeezing.  “I know we haven’t talked much about this, but I need you to know it.  I’m so very proud of you.  Throughout the years, even though we’ve both pretty much been through the same sorts of things, you’ve always proven you are much better at making the tough call.  Both before and after ICT.  Whether that’s because of what you’ve gone through with your parents or not, I don’t know, but it’s truth.  Now, I don’t know it for a fact, but I don’t think it takes a genius to realize that’s why they opted for you over me or anyone else when the call for the first human Spectre came.”

She stared up into his eyes for a long moment.  “John,” she breathed.  

His smile was warm and reassuring when he leaned over to kiss her again, this time on her lips.  “I mean it, Jane.  I’m proud of you.  You’ve done a spectacular job so far and despite a few bumps along the way that only prove you are human like the rest of us, you’ve been up to the challenge.  Just remember, we’re here for you, okay?  You may have the rank and title, but you aren’t alone in this.”

Sniffing back the tears that threatened, Jane bobbed her head.  “Okay,” she croaked softly.  When John lifted his hand to her cheek this time, she batted it away with a rocky laugh.  “Alright, Mr. Emotional, I’m good but I’m not _that_ good.  Keep at it and I’ll be a walking waterfall!”

“There’s my girl,” he murmured with a knowing grin, tucking another few strands of copper behind her ear.  “Now come on.  We’ve got things to do.”

Sighing, Jane nodded.  She swiped the edge of her sleeve over her eyes.  “I had a message from Tali when we got back shipside,” she told him in a steadier tone.  “Know anything about that?”

John shook his head.  “Nope.”  They exited and walked over to the galaxy map.  “Where to next?”

Jane glanced at the board.   _Six and one half dozen of another.  Garrus or Wrex first?_  “Tuntau,” she decided after a moment.  “I need to keep a promise to Wrex.”

“Consider it done.”

 


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay -- craziness at work yesterday!

In the end, there wasn’t time to catch up with Tali before reaching Tuntau.  Or running down Dr. Saleon for Garrus.  Or, for that matter, chasing down a geth presence in the Armstrong Nebula.  The best Jane could do at the time was send the quarian a quick text message assuring her that as soon as she had a free moment she would seek her out.

If ever Jane wondered just how close attention Admiral Hackett paid to the location of the _Normandy_ at any given time, his request that she and her crew look into this matter effectively answered the question.  The _Normandy_ had just entered the Attican Beta when the call came through requesting them to make a quick jump over to the Armstrong Nebula.  

It ended up being a more complex mission than it first looked, but in the end, was well worth the trouble.  Initially, they’d thought only four of the six systems were showing signs of geth infiltration.  As it turned out, a fifth -- the moon called Solcrum -- appeared to be their strongest foothold in the Nebula.  Through a series of quick hit and run style missions in which Jane and John altered leadership of the ground forces, they were able to eliminate the threat altogether.

But almost as soon as the Solcrum threat was removed, Jane got caught up with filing reports to Fifth Fleet -- one per mission, which ultimately ended up being a series of seven reports all told, including the personal ones for Wrex and Garrus -- so they were updated on what happened.  

Missions completed, reports sent and filed, Jane yet again found herself unable to go and seek out Tali.  And this time, it was all due to a cup of tea.  Ducking out of her cabin and right into the galley to make a fresh cup, Jane found Dr. Chakwas already doing the same.  She thought to withdraw quickly -- not because she was trying to avoid the doctor, but because she really wanted to keep her promise to Tali -- but the doctor caught sight of her and turned.  “Ah, Commander.  I suspect we are here after the same thing.”

Sighing internally, Jane laughed and nodded as she set her empty N7 mug on the counter beside the doctor’s.  “Looks like, doc.”

“The water should be ready in a few minutes,” the doctor said with a smile.  One that Jane found almost too casual.  A moment later, she understood why.  “Which gives us a moment to talk.”

Startled and caught completely off guard for no reason she could think of, Jane blinked.  “Talk?”  She thought she could spot a hint of mischief in the doctor’s eyes.  Green gaze narrowing, Jane murmured, “Now, doctor, what’s going on?  I can recognize an ambush from a mile away.”

The older woman’s lips curved upwards into a smile.  “Nothing sinister, I promise you,” she replied.  “In fact, if anything it’s simply routine.”

Jane folded her arms across her chest.  “Routine,” she repeated.  “Sorry, not buying it.”

Dr. Chakwas chuckled.  “Captain Anderson always said you were quick to see things others weren’t,” she mused.  

Jane blinked again at the mention of Anderson.  “Did he?”

She nodded.  “Indeed he did.  I suspect that is part of why he recommended you for the position of Spectre.”

The kettle began to whistle, and while the doctor took a moment to retrieve it, Jane used that time to settle herself.  “I thought the recommendation came from Admiral Hackett,” she blurted out.

The doctor nodded while pouring hot water into both mugs and then inserting the tea bags.  “As I understood it from Captain Anderson, it was he, the Admiral and Ambassador Udina who put your name forward.”

Sighing, Jane pulled the sugar from the cupboard and then turned to retrieve cream from the small fridge.  It all made sense, she supposed, even down to Udina’s reactions to such things as Saren trying to blame Jane for the failure on Eden Prime so many weeks before.  “You knew?”

The doctor chuckled, accepting the sugar and cream when Jane handed them over.  “Captain Anderson sought my professional opinion,” she explained.  “Not that I’d had you as a patient, but rather as impartial input.  The Ambassador, I believe, had some concerns after your adventures in London when you were a teenager, I believe.”

Sighing, Jane nodded.  It figured he’d find out about the worst of it and focus on that instead of all she’d achieved since then.  

“Needless to say, the Captain and the Admiral were able to convince him not to worry about it,” the doctor concluded.

Jane actually managed a small laugh.  “I’ve learned not to put anything past either one of them,” she replied.

“And for good reason.”  The doctor took a small, careful sip of her tea before setting it back on the counter and adding another half teaspoon of sugar to it.  

“Alright, jumping back to your original comment then, what is so ‘routine’ you need to see me?” Jane asked.  Her tea was almost ready.

The doctor’s brow arched as she met the Commander’s gaze.  “Why, your yearly physical, of course.”

“My yearly -- Oh, for pete’s sake!”  Jane set her mug onto the counter with a thud and a slosh over the rim as laughter shook through her.  She yelped softly as the hot liquid made contact with her thumb, and brought the injured digit to her mouth for a moment before commenting, “Are you kidding me?  It’s that time of year again already?”

The doctor joined in the amusement while nodding.  “Indeed it is.  I know you are busy and the mission must come first, but I wanted to alert you ahead of time so at some point we can take care of this.  Not that I think the Systems Alliance will pull you from duty if you are late, but why take the risk?”

A beep at Jane’s wrist pulled her attention away from the doctor briefly.   _Incoming message from the Council, Commander.  Eyes only._  Sighing, Jane grabbed her mug more carefully this time.  That would mean a quick trip up to the CIC before going to find Tali.   _This is getting insane_.  Nodding at the doctor, she asked  “How much leeway do I have?”

“Two months,” the doctor replied.  “I might even be able to extend it another two weeks, but that is about all, I’m afraid.”

“Sorry, doc, I’ve got to run.  I’ll get back to you on that,” Jane promised with a nod of understanding, walking towards the stairwell.  “Hopefully, our mission will be complete by then and we’ll have all the time in the world!”

Jogging up the stairs with a mug of tea was a challenge, but Jane had years of experience.  Entering the CIC, she tracked down the communications officer who gave her access to the Council channel -- Jane stuck with text this time rather than a visual, she had no desire for a verbal battle at this stage -- and after a few minutes she had the information she needed.  It was only an information dump, from what she could tell, but there were some additional notes from Councillors Tevos and Valern.  Deciding she could deal with it later, she pushed it aside and retraced her steps until she reached the elevator.

As it descended, Jane took a sip of her drink.   _Life really is just one damned thing after another_ , she mused silently and with some irony.  She stepped out into the shuttle bay a couple of minutes later and waved at Garrus, Ashley and Wrex, but her main goal was the Engineering section and she would be damned if she was going to let anyone or thing pull her from that right now.  

As she entered, she found the section humming away, both literally and figuratively, which made her smile.  John loved sneaking down here and helping out Lieutenant Greg Adams when he could, and Jane could understand why.  She didn’t know the lieutenant well, but from what John told her and what she’d seen first hand, he was as good as they came.  John was so thoroughly impressed with his abilities that he assured Jane he had absolutely no concerns about letting the man run Engineering without much supervision.  High praise, indeed, coming from her husband.

“Commander.  Something I can help you with?”

Jane nodded a greeting to Adams as she stepped further into the room.  “Afternoon, Adams.  I’m here to borrow Tali for a bit if that’s okay?”

Adams’ eyes drifted over to the quarian.  “Not a problem, Commander, just so long as I get her back,” he replied.

“Get her back?”  Startled, Jane turned to face the lieutenant.  “Should I be taking her somewhere?”

Chuckling, Adams shook his head.  “No, ma’am, what I mean is, she’s one of the best engineers I’ve ever had working for me.  I’d like that to continue for as long as possible.”

Still confused, Jane frowned.  “Okay?  Is there a reason that shouldn’t continue?”

Adams sighed.  “Not that I’m aware of,” he said, “but I know how dicey your missions can get.”

“Ah, I see.”  Jane thought she was finally beginning to catch onto the lieutenant’s concerns.  “Well, I expect she’s pretty good at keeping herself in one piece.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Crossing the section, Jane reached out and lightly tapped on Tali’s shoulder.  The quarian was kneeling down and working beneath one of the computer terminals.  “Oh, Commander!”

Giving her a smile, Jane said, “You wanted to see me?  I’ve got a few free minutes if you want them.”

Tali scooted out from beneath the terminal and scrambled to her feet, brushing off dust and dirt in the process.  Glancing around, she asked, “Is there somewhere we can … talk?”

Jane nodded.  “Sure, come on.”  She led Tali out of the Engineering section and into a small and currently dark room nearby.  It wasn’t much, but when needed, it served as a fitness facility for those who cared to use the equipment.  At the moment, it was empty.  Jane flipped on the light as she said, “Will this do?”

“Yes, thank you, Commander.”

Though they were getting to know one another better, Jane caught a sense of unease from the quarian.  “Is something wrong?”

“N-no, not exactly,” Tali began, her hands wringing together.  

Jane recognized the telling action and offered Tali a warm smile.  “It’s okay, Tali, I don’t bite,” she murmured, eyes sparkling with teasing humor.

“What?  Oh … you mean … I see.”  Tali cleared her throat.  “Well, Shepard, I -- it’s just -- I need to talk to you and it’s important.”

“Okay,” Jane agreed.  She  moved over to take a seat on a bench.  “Hit me with it.”

Tali hesitated a moment, and Jane guessed she was sorting out the expression in her head.  “Right, that’s one of those Earth expressions, isn’t it?  Hmm.  Anyway, you know that data you took from the geth control nodes on Solcrum?  The information you passed along to the Alliance?  I want a copy of it.”

Jane blinked, startled.  “Wait a minute … what?”  Frowning, it was now she who was trying to sort things out.  “Okay … geth information.  I understand why you might be interested in it.  You …”  It suddenly hit her and she looked up at Tali.  “You want to take the data back to the Migrant Fleet, don’t you?”

Tali nodded.  “Those files have information that could be vital to quarian efforts in understanding the geth,” she explained.  “It could be the key to helping us reclaim our homeworld!”

Sighing, Jane squared her shoulders and stood.  “It also means your Pilgrimage would be over, wouldn’t it?  Meaning you’ll be going back to the Fleet?”

Tali shook her head.  “Not right away.  I’ll stay with you as long as it takes to stop Saren,” she promised.  “But, my people need this information!”

“You realize it’s going to take years to decipher and analyze the data,” Jane pointed out.  “Minimum I heard from Alliance sources was ten years.”

Tali sighed softly.  Or, perhaps it was just the sound of her breathing through her suit filters, Jane couldn’t tell for certain.  “Maybe even decades,” she acknowledged.  “But Shepard, it’s worth the time.  This information will give us new insight into how the geth have changed and evolved over the past centuries.”

Jane rolled her head and neck, finding the soft pops to be a relief of stress as well as a momentary distraction.  

“Shepard -- _Commander_ , please!  The quarians need every bit of help we can get against the geth!”

The debate inside Jane’s head really didn’t take all that long to decide.  “Okay, go ahead and make a copy,” Jane told her after a moment.  And it was possible that if the quarians broke the encryption sooner than the Alliance they might share.   _Hope springs eternal, I suppose_ , Jane mused silently.  Tali might, if she got wind of it, but the rest of the quarians Jane had no idea on.  Still, it was worth a shot, and Tali _had_ helped out a great deal along the way in dealing with Saren.  It was the least they could do to repay her for that help.

Relief seemed to leave Tali sagging in relief.  “My people -- I -- owe you a great debt.  One  I can never repay.  The only thing I can offer in return is what you already have: my solemn promise that I will stay with you until Saren and his geth armies are defeated.  Thank you, Shepard.”

Jane chuckled softly.  “Alright, alright!” she teased lightly, smiling at her.  “And honestly, who better to offer us suggestions and advice when we go up against the geth, hmm?”  She paused, head tilting slightly to the right as she studied the petite quarian.  “Still, if you left us now …”

Tali nodded once and replied, “Understood, Commander.  You have my word.”

Jane nodded once.  “Good.”  pushing herself to her feet, she watched Tali turn away to leave.  “Oh, one more question.”

“Yes, Commander?”  Tali hesitated near the doorway.

“Was _this_ what you needed to see me about when you sent me that message?  Did you _know_ we were going to end up hunting the geth right about then?” Jane asked.

Tali shook her head.  “No.  The … the reason for my original message no longer exists,” she admitted.  “But once I heard about this, well ....”

It was clear to Jane that whatever the original intention of her request, Tali wasn’t going to expand, so she let it go.  “Alright.”

“Thank you again, Commander!”  Tali rushed out of the room, no doubt in a hurry to get her copy of the information and forward it onto the Migrant Fleet.  

While Tali hustled off, Jane texted her husband to find out his current location.  This resulted in yet another trip up to the CIC where she found him on the bridge flying the ship.  “Let me guess,” she said, dropping into the co-pilot’s chair next to him.  “Joker’s gone AWOL.”

John snorted softly.  “Practically had to threaten him with a stint in the brig if he didn’t go get some rest,” he explained.  Joker’s love of the _Normandy_ and flying was generally accepted knowledge aboard ship, as was his reluctance to leave the command deck for necessary crew rest.  “It’s only for a few hours.  Alenko’s going to take over about 2100.”

“Good.  That’ll give us some time to go over our next mission,” she told him casually.  

He glanced over at her, curiosity arching his brow at the hint of seriousness in her tone.  “Oh?  Hackett get in touch with you?”

She shook her head.  “Nope.  The Council.  Finally.  Well, sort of, anyway.  They’ve given me a potential lead.”

“To what?”

“Good question.”  Jane shrugged.  “Honestly, it’s probably nothing, but there’s an STG team trying to track down Saren that tried to contact them.  Turns out, all they got on their end was static.  They couldn’t even send a request back to have the team resend it.”  She pressed a few buttons on the nearby computer terminal and waited for the miniature galaxy map display to pop up.  “Where are we?”

“About two hours out of Attican Beta,” John told her.  “Where do we need to go?”

Jane smiled.  “Sentry Omega,” she told him.  “Planet called Virmire.  And you’re gonna love what information they gave me about it.”

John’s lips pressed into a thin line.  “Yeah, by your tone, I’m guessing not.”

Chuckling, Jane rose and leaned over to kiss his forehead.  “I’ll go input the coordinates into the Galaxy Map,” she told him.  “I’ll meet you in our quarters shortly after 2100.”

“I’ll bring the wine and flowers,” he called after her, chuckling when he heard her groan softly.  If he was to guess, she wasn’t fully over her last drinking binge.

 


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  Though I used a playthrough of Virmire as a guide for these next few chapters, I ultimately let the muses direct my path through, so it won’t be written in any particular order in that sense.  Enjoy!

 

Jane sat in their cabin flipping between the few existing photos of Virmire on the datapad in her hands.  “Looks like an ideal location for colonization,” she commented idly.  The pictures presented a lush planet and all documentation indicated carbon-based species could flourish there easily enough.  

John snorted softly.  “Yeah, if you don’t mind the political instability of the Terminus,” he replied.  “Because of that, you can’t even take advantage of it as a vacation destination.”

Jane looked up at him and grinned.  “You aren’t trying to plan another shore leave for us, are you?”  She winked at him, though the idea of a trip to an island paradise like this one was tempting.  A week of beach, sunshine and total relaxation would be a nice change from their current situation.  Then again ….  “Do I need to remind you what happened on our honeymoon?”

“No,” he cut her off immediately.  “You really don’t.”

Chuckling, Jane’s eyes dropped as she picked up a different datapad.  The shots contained on this one had clearly been taken on a surveillance run.  “What’s this?”  Her fingers traced over the map, pausing momentarily over three separate areas.  “Defense grid?”

“That’s my guess,” he agreed.  “I buzzed Anderson about it on the way down here, but he said he’s never heard of Virmire before.  All of this,” his hand moved to include the three datapads between them and the fourth in her hand, “is what the Council sent.  It’s not much to go on.  Just old photos that look more like tourist adverts and a few grainy images taken from a quick flyover god only knows when.”

Sighing, Jane nodded.  She wasn’t really surprised.  It wasn’t the first time any of the non-Council members species would’ve been left in the dark about such things.  “Think they’re hiding something?” she asked.

John shook his head.  “No idea,” he replied.  “I mean, politics out here are dicey on a good day, and we know the Council avoids the Terminus as much as possible.  My guess is they just haven’t investigated before now.”

“So, why send in an STG team?” she countered.  She glanced over and saw John’s lips thin but curve upwards a little at the corners.  Brow arching, she asked, “What?”

“Saren,” he said flatly.  Most of what he was telling her now came from a follow up message that the Council sent and he’d grabbed on his way to the cabin.

Jane blinked.  “No shit?”  She sat forward as he handed over the message.  “ _Commander Shepard, we still are unable to decipher the message sent by the STG team, but we can tell you that it was sent on a mission-critical channel, so we know what they were trying to send was important, and their focus was on tracking Saren._ ”  

Sighing, she dropped the datapad on the table and scrubbed her hands over her face.  “Would’ve been nice had they said something sooner,” she muttered.  Looking back over at John, she asked, “You ever get the feeling they really don’t want us involved in this, and yet they’re willing to send us in as the sacrificial lambs, so to speak?”

John snorted.  “Don’t get paranoid,” he cautioned.

She rolled her eyes, but cut off any further comment.  It wasn’t worth the effort, really.  Nothing would change from it, and it _was_ what they were trained to do.  She’d known coming in that as the first human Spectre she would have to work her way up from the ground level.  It would take time and patience to get anywhere near the Council’s ‘most favored and trusted’ list, especially after Saren’s betrayal.  But Jane understood how that worked.  Hell, she’d accepted it years before when joining the Systems Alliance.  That didn’t mean she had to like it, however.  It got old pretty damned quick having to repeatedly prove herself time and again.  “So … thoughts on a plan?” she asked instead.

John ran a hand across his chin as he considered.   _This_ was where they worked exceptionally well together.  Give them data and a mission and they’d have a functional plan ready in short notice.  Sometime, it would even be spectacular.  

“Possibly,” he told her after a moment.  “We can drop a landing team here and you can focus on the defenses,” he pointed at the grainy overhead shot she’d shown him as he spoke, “while the _Normandy_ does a flyover to see what we can see.  At this point and with Saren involved, it’s about the best I’ve got.  Hopefully in the process, one of us will hook up with the STG team and get more details on what exactly is happening down there.”

Jane’s smile widened as she pushed herself to her feet.  Carte blanche on taking the Mako was something she could get behind.  “I’m taking Alenko, Williams and Wrex,” she informed him.  Patting him on his shoulder as she passed, she leaned over to kiss his cheek.  “You have your baby and I’ll have mine.”

John snorted.  “Mine has more firepower,” he called after her retreating figure.

Jane grinned from the doorway.  “You might not want to argue that with the krogan manning the cannon in the Mako,” she countered over her shoulder with a soft chuckle.  

 

~ n ~

 

“ _We’re getting a signal,_ ” John announced over comms.  “ _Probably the salarian STG team.  Uploading it to your navigation systems._ ”

“Understood,” Jane replied as she secured her shoulder straps and went through her pre-mission checklist.  

Beside her, Alenko was already belted, his hands flying over the keyboard and opening the map display.  Williams, sitting directly behind him, was looking over his shoulder.  “Look at those defense towers,” he murmured, fingers pointing at several locations.  

The Mako shifted as Wrex dropped into the seat beside Williams.  “This isn’t going to be easy,” the Chief muttered.  “If Saren’s involved, you know there’s going to be geth.”

“We’ll go in hot and take them out,” Jane said.  Wrex’s rumble of laughter was his only sign of approval, but it made her smile.   _There is a madness to my method_ , she mused.

“ _We’ll get you in under the radar,_ ” John promised.  “ _Just --_ ”

Jane chuckled softly.  “Just keep dinner warm,” she quipped.  Before her, the hatch to the shuttle bay started to open and Jane could see Virmire coming quickly into range.  “I’ll be back before you know it.”

A snort crossed the line from John’s end of things.  “ _Count on it._ ”  There was a pause in which Jane thought the connection had been broken for a while, but John’s voice came back.  “ _Looks like those defense towers are protecting a larger facility.  The STG team is between the two if we’re reading this right._ ”

Jane frowned.  “Will a flyover be safe for you?” she asked.  “They’ll probably have AA guns there as well.”

“ _We’ll find out soon enough._ ”  

Jane experienced a moment of vertigo as the Mako was released and broke free of the _Normandy_ ’s shields, dropping to the surface below.  It never failed to leave her stomach flipping wildly, but it settled quickly enough once they landed.  

“ _Clean drop_ ,” John’s voice returned.  

Alenko called over, “We’ve got active AA towers in those defenses.”

“Any sign they know we’re here?” Jane asked.

“Not yet.”

“Did you hear that, John?”

“ _Roger that._ ”

Guiding the Mako through a maze of rivulets, Jane told him, “Priority is keeping the _Normandy_ out of range of those AA towers.  If you can flyover, great.  If not, don’t take chances.”

“ _We’ll continue evasive maneuvers until you take them down_ ,” he promised.  “Normandy _out._ ”

Calling back over her shoulder, Jane ordered as she eased the lumbering vehicle around a turn, “Wrex, I want you on that cannon pronto.  Until I tell you otherwise, you have free rein on whatever targets pop up.”

“Understood, Shepard.”

“What about me, Commander?” Williams asked.

“Commander,” Alenko broke through before Jane could reply, “nav systems just went dark.”

Jane eased the beast to a slow halt and glanced over at the map screen.  “How do you mean?”

Williams leaned forward, looking over his shoulder at the display.  “Looks like what happened in the Armstrong Nebula,” she commented.

Alenko nodded.  Straightening, he concluded, “I’d say there’s definitely geth here, ma’am.”

Jane tapped at her earpiece, attempting to raise the _Normandy_ , but all she got in return was static.  “Shit.  Well, we expected that.  I’d also say that’s more than enough proof Saren is here.  Somewhere.”  She craned her neck to look skywards out the virtual window, but the _Normandy_ was no longer in sight.  “We’re on our own for now.”  

The Mako shook suddenly, Wrex bellowing something in krogan none of the rest could understand.  “Battle cry or something,” Williams offered with a shrug.  “I’ve heard him shout it in combat before.”

Eyes focused out the front of the vehicle, Alenko’s arm shot up and pointed just as Wrex shouted again.  “Assault drones,” he announced.  

Steering the Mako behind some rocks for shelter, she called up to Wrex, “Guide me, Wrex!”

“LEFT!”

As Jane maneuvered, Williams muttered up at the krogan, “More specific?”

Jane managed a short laugh.  She did her best to go where Wrex indicated while keeping an eye out front.  “It’s okay, Chief.  I think we’re good.”  The Mako shook again, this time from a rocket hitting the outer shell.  “Maybe.”

It took several minutes before the area was cleared out of drones, a couple of Rocket Troopers and a Juggernaut, but once it was, Wrex called down, “We’re good.”

“Right.  Try to give me some warning next time, _before_ you start shooting, okay?” she responded.  Wrex only replied with a laugh.  Glancing briefly over at Alenko as she continued driving, she asked, “How bad’s the damage, LT?”

“Not too bad,” he responded.  “Nothing we need to stop and repair, anyway.”

“That’s good,” Williams countered, her hand rising and pointing, “because we’ve got more up ahead.”

The Mako shuddered again, simultaneous with another cry from Wrex.  Jane just rolled her eyes and continued evasive maneuvers, taking shelter when she could.  “We must be getting close,” she muttered, turning sharply to the right to avoid an incoming rocket.  

“Nav systems still jammed,” Alenko offered.

Wrex roared from the cannon turret and the rapid fire shooting of the machine gun.  

“Remind me never to get on his bad side,” Williams muttered.

“Are we clear yet?” Jane called up to Wrex.

His bellow and the vibrations running through the Mako’s frame were the only response.  

“This is getting really old really fast!” the Chief shouted at the krogan.  

“Don’t tell me, tell them!” he grumbled.

Jane pulled around another curving corner and straight into several more rockets launched in their direction, but she also noted they were now coming from the first line of defense towers.  Swerving further to the left, she avoided the first two, but the third made contact.  “Shields down to seventy percent,” Alenko informed her.

“Shepard, move RIGHT!” Wrex bellowed over the sound of machine gun fire.  

Sighing, Jane moved out of protection and back into the line of fire.  They took another rocket hit to their left flank and Jane winced.  “Sixty-three percent,” Alenko informed her.

“Got it, LT,” she bit out as she struggled to weave a path closer to the defense structure.  Wrex roared from overhead and Jane, finally allowing her anger and irritation at the geth to get the better of her, gunned the engines and rolled forward, coming to a sharp, quick stop right atop the last of the geth fighters before he could launch the rocket he held.

Silence echoed inside the Mako for a moment, but a soft chuckle from behind soon broke it.  “Nice move, Commander,” Williams said with a grin as she broke free of her restraints and reached for her weapons.  “Now, let’s go clear out this place!”

Wrex followed her out of the vehicle.  Alenko cast a concerned look in Jane’s direction as he followed suit, but Jane shook her head.  “I’m good, LT,” she promised.

“As you say, ma’am.”

Shotgun in hand, Jane dropped out of the Make in time to see Wrex go bounding up the staircase with a roar of defiance, Williams following close at his heels.  Sighing, she nodded at Alenko to follow.  She brought up the rear, racing up behind the others as they worked their way down the hall.  Ahead of them she saw some movement, but she couldn’t tell numbers from her vantage point.  Alenko shook his head at her when she glanced at him, clearly still unable to access the navigation system on his omnitool.  

“Well,” she breathed while taking cover against the wall, “we’ll do this the old fashioned way.”  Nodding at Alenko, she lifted her hand, the tell tale aura of her biotics shimmering over it.  A moment later, both tossed a Throw down the hallway.  Whatever was at the other end rose into the air and gave both Williams and Wrex easy targets before falling heavily to the ground once more.  

“Clear, Commander,” Alenko murmured.  

“Anything else we need to do here?” she asked as they secured the area.

Alenko eyed the rudimentary systems while Williams and Wrex scouted around.  “Nothing.  This gatehouse is exactly what it appears to be,” he replied.

“An outer line of defense,” Williams concluded when she joined them.  “Just garbage lying around here, ma’am.  But we got the gates opened below.”  She gestured towards Wrex standing behind her.

“Good, let’s go.”

They scrambled back into the Mako and rolled through the gates only to find a geth Colossus waiting for them around the next bend.  However, the Mako was in a relatively easy position to maneuver away from its attacks.  Jane rolled the vehicle back and forth while Wrex used the cannon to take it out, and after several minutes, it finally went down for good.

“I think … I’m going to be seasick,” Williams muttered.

Jane darted a quick, concerned look over at the Chief.  “Not in _my_ Mako, you aren’t!”

“Yes … ma’am.”  

They continued on, taking down several additional Colossus mixed in with other geth attackers, and eventually ended up at the second gatehouse.  As they pulled up, Jane thought she spotted some movement on the upper deck.  “Hey, Wrex, target the upper level.”

The Mako shook as the krogan let off the shot, and a moment later the machine gun followed suit.  “Good eyes, Commander,” Wrex called down as he joined them.

She gave the krogan a smug grin.  “They’ve kept me alive this long.”  Exiting first, she took the lead and climbed the stairs.

Directing Alenko and Wrex down the left side while she and Williams took the right, they ran into interference almost immediately.  Alenko caught up two Troopers in a Throw just after clearing the stairs while Williams yanked Jane across the way and out of direct line of fire coming from further down the hall.  “Sorry, ma’am,” she rasped, recovering her breath.  “Sniper.”

“Thanks, Chief.”  Jane crouched behind the wall for a moment then took a quick peek.  “Two left,” she said.

With a bellowing roar, Wrex barrelled forward leaving the others to follow.  “Better than a battering ram,” Williams mumbled.

At the end of this hall, Alenko announced, “We’ve got AA gun controls here, ma’am.”

“Can you deactivate them?” Jane asked as she walked over.  Quick surveillance assured her this a little more complicated than her skills were prepared for.

Alenko reached over, fiddled with the keyboard, and a moment later the system powered down.  “Outer line of defense is down.”

Jane tossed a quick grin over at him and thought she saw him blush.  “One of these days, LT, you really need to teach me how you do that!”

“Be glad to, ma’am,” he returned.

“That should leave only the inner defense tower,” Jane announced as they tumbled back into the Mako and she shifted it into gear.  “Any contact with the _Normandy_ yet, LT?”

He shook his head.  “Not yet, ma’am.  Guessing that geth interferen --”  He paused, fiddled with the keys, then finished, “Nope.  Definitely still being jammed.”

The sound of a loud roar from above had Jane leaning forward to glance up at the sky.  The _Normandy_ made a low pass over them, wings tilting slightly side to side.  Jane chuckled softly and briefly wished she had a way to communicate back with them.  Even a horn would be something at this point.

“They must’ve found the STG camp,” Williams said, hand rising to point ahead of them.  “Looks like they’re landing.”

“Should be somewhere on the other side of that wall.”  Jane nodded at the gate ahead of them.  By now, Wrex was in the habit of shooting first, and the familiar vibration of the Mako was less disconcerting.  As they pulled up to the gates, Williams grinned over at Shepard and headed out the door, Wrex close behind.  “Keep the engine running, Mom.  We’ll be back in a jiff!”

Startled, Jane glanced over at Alenko.  “Mom?”

He smiled, his laughter soft enough to barely be heard.  “You can always bring her up on charges later, ma’am.”  

The gates blocking their way began to lift, and within a couple minutes both soldiers were clamoring back inside the vehicle.  “Maybe,” she murmured for the LT’s ears only.  

“That should do it,” Williams told them as she buckled up.  

Jane glanced back at her.  “How’d you take out the AA guns?”

Williams exchanged a quick look with the krogan.  “Half a dozen grenades did the trick -- mixture of tech and fragment,” she replied with a wild grin.  “It was _beau_ tiful!  Also, thought I could see signs of the STG camp up ahead.”

Jane maneuvered the Mako through the gate and continued to pick up speed.  A short while later, she pulled into the camp and spotted the _Normandy_ landed off to the side.  Touching her earpiece, she said, “John?  We’re pulling in now.”

“ _I see you.  Normandy’s landed, but looks like we’re grounded._ ”   

She could tell by his tone that something was wrong.  The fact he didn’t expand on it also hinted at something unexpected.  Fishing, she asked, “Problem?

“ _The salarian captain, Kirrahe, can explain it when you get on shore._ ”

Sighing, Jane slowed, maneuvering the Mako over near the edge of the beach.  “On my way.”  Turning to the others, she told them, “Something’s up.  I’m going to go find John and get a sitrep.  Check your weapons and gear and join us when you can.”

 


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a heads up, next month will be one of two Camp Nanos this year.  I intend to take that month to complete a fanfiction for Dragon Age that I’m nearly done with (only 8 chapters left out of 100+!), and if there’s time to continue on with this story.  That said, I may run out of chapters to post before the month is over.  If so, just know I fully intend to follow through with this story and onto the next!  I shall return!!!
> 
> In the meantime … enjoy!

 

Williams stood off to the side next to one of the STG tents as she watched both commanders speaking to the salarian captain.

“I thought we were supposed to join them, Chief?”

Alenko’s voice wasn’t really a surprise, but she jumped nonetheless.  “Dammit, LT, don’t _do_ that!” she hissed at him.  When all he did was raise an eyebrow in question, she sniffed.  “You know what I mean!”

“Don’t blame me if you weren’t paying enough attention to your surroundings,” he countered.  “And you didn’t answer my question.”

She scowled, though her gaze drifted back towards the meeting.  “I was waiting for you.”

“Lame, Chief.”

“No, seriously.  Look at the Commander’s face.”  She pointed at Jane.  “She looks pissed!”

Alenko’s eyes followed where she indicated with a slight nod.  True enough, the commander did look angry.  Then again, John didn’t look much better.  “Any idea what’s going on?” he asked.

Williams shrugged.  “Not really, though I saw Wrex storm off earlier.  Kinda why I decided to hold back, to be honest.”  She glanced over at him.  “Angry krogans are scary.”

Alenko nodded, his eyes thoughtful as he continued to watch the commanders.  “Trust me, angry biotics only complicate matters,” he muttered.

“No doubt.”

From the distance they were at, they couldn’t hear what was being said, but the reactions of both their commanders they could see left them both uneasy.

 

~ n ~

 

“Shit.”  Jane sighed, hand rising to pinch the bridge of her nose.  “So, what are we supposed to do now?” she demanded.  

“We need a distraction,” John insisted.  

“We need a plan first,” Jane told him.  Captain Kirrahe nodded his agreement.  “A distraction would be great -- but to what end?”

“Every AA gun within ten miles has been alerted to your presence,” the salarian informed them.  “They know you are here.  I don’t see that we have much choice but to wait for the reinforcements requested from the Council.”

Jane glanced over at John who met her look briefly before turning away.  “We _are_ your reinforcements,” Jane explained.  “The message the Council received was garbled and incoherent.  We were sent to investigate what’s going on.”

“That is a repetition of our original task,” Kirrahe told her.  He sighed.  “I lost over half my men investigating this facility.”

“What did you find?” John asked as he turned back.  To Jane he said, “Williams and Alenko are here.”  Both soldiers stepped up as they joined them.

“Saren’s base of operations,” Kirrahe announced, confirming the information the Council sent.  “He’s set up a research facility and it’s very well fortified and guarded by geth.”

“A research facility?” Williams echoed.  “What’s he researching?”

“He is breeding an army of krogan,” Kirrahe replied.

Jane’s eyes drifted down the beach.  “I assume that’s what you told Wrex?” she asked.  

Kirrahe’s gaze followed hers.  “He overheard one of my men reporting in with his estimation of the situation.”

“How can Saren be breeding a krogan army?” John asked.  “That isn’t possible.”

Kirrahe shook his head.  “He’s found a cure for the genophage and he’s taking advantage of it.”

“Saren’s bad enough with a geth army,” Jane muttered.  “If he has a krogan army at his disposal … shit!”

“He’ll be practically unstoppable,” John agreed.  Sighing, he looked over at Jane.  “We’ve got to destroy this place.  We can’t let this information get out.”

“Is your krogan friend going to be a problem?” Kirrahe asked.  In the distance, the report of Wrex’s shotgun could be heard echoing back towards them.

Sighing, Jane shook her head while pinching the bridge of her nose.  “No. I’ll take care of it.”  She turned to walk past her husband.  “I’ll be right back.”

“Do you really think that’s a good idea right now?” he demanded.  “He’s hardly in the best of moods.”

Facing him and walking backwards, she offered him a lopsided smile and a casual shrug of her shoulders.  “Would you be if you discovered the key to your peoples’ survival only to be told it can’t happen?” she asked.

“Dammit -- Jane!”

She turned, hand waving him off as she continued down the beach.  Sending a dark look over at Williams, John ordered, “Keep your eyes on them.  This has the potential to become explosive.  If he makes one move towards her ….”

“Got it, Skipper.”  Williams darted forward to do as directed.

“You don’t think Wrex would hurt her, do you?” Alenko asked.

John shook his head.  “I hope not, but I’m not going to take any chances.”

 

~ n ~

 

As she neared Wrex, Jane slowed her pace and cleared her throat to make certain he was aware of her presence.  He ignored her at first, his arm raised.  He’d switched to his pistol and was aiming out over the water.  Thankfully, his targets weren’t any of the STG team or the _Normandy_ crew.  That was a good start.

“This isn’t right, Shepard,” he growled after a moment, swiveling his head in her direction.  “My people are dying.  This cure is the only thing that can save them.  We _can’t_ destroy it.”

Sighing, Jane held his gaze.  “Wrex, I understand you’re upset, but you can’t lose sight of the real enemy here.  Saren.  He’s the one you need to focus your anger on, not the salarians.”

The krogan straightened and stalked towards her until his eyes were level with hers.  “Really?” he rumbled.  Jane heard the threat in his tone, but she chose to ignore it for the moment.  “The way I see it, Saren’s created a cure for my people and you and the salarians want to destroy it.  Last I checked, you and I were on the same side, Shepard.  But we’re here for a short while and suddenly you’re all buddy buddy with the salarians and their plans, leaving my only hope with the renegade Spectre.  Where’s the line between friend and foe?”

Jane stood as tall as she could, continuing to hold his gaze for a long moment.  “It isn’t a cure, Wrex,” she insisted slowly, “it’s a weapon.  Saren is building an army -- cannon fodder.  He doesn’t care about a cure, he cares about bodies that will bend to his will and take orders.  Do you really want that let loose on the galaxy?  Because let me tell you, if he’s allowed to do that, no one will be left to reap the benefits of any cure.”

“It’s a risk you should be willing to take!” he insisted.  “This is the fate of my entire people at stake we’re talking about!  If you’re going to destroy the hopes of my people, at least give me a better reason than this, Shepard, or I’m done with you.”  

Jane saw him shifting out of the corner of her eye and reached for her shotgun on instinct.  Standing face to face with him, nose to snout, she held it at the ready just as he did his weapon.  “I can’t let you jeopardize the mission Wrex,” she insisted.

“That’s all I get from you?  After all this time, all the missions?  How can you not see what this means to the krogan?  This base can’t be destroyed!  I won’t allow it!”

The reverberations of Wrex’s bellow rolled over and through Jane.  It took reaching deep inside for the willpower to force herself to move, but she did and lowered her shotgun.  Straightening, she told him, “Wrex, these _aren’t your people_.  They are tools created by Saren.  Puppets.  He doesn’t give a rat’s ass what happens to them!  All he cares about is getting what he wants.  Once they have no more use, he’ll destroy them.  Is _that_ what you want for your people?”

He stood there for a very long moment, his eyes locked onto hers, and Jane silently counted.  She’d reached one hundred seventy-six when he finally lowered his weapon.  Only then did she breathe a soft sigh of relief.  “No,” he admitted, holstering his pistol.  “We were tools for the Council once, and to thank us all for helping destroy the rachni, they gave us the genophage.  I doubt Saren will be so generous.”

He sighed heavily, his head swiveling and staring off into the distance before he added, “Okay, Shepard, you’ve made your point.  I don’t like it, but I trust you enough to follow your lead.  Just one thing.  When we find Saren, I want his head.”

Jane nodded and smiled.  “Gladly,” she agreed.

They both turned to walk back up the beach.  When they neared the staging area, Wrex turned towards her and asked, “What does a rat’s ass have to do with anything?”

Snorting, Jane promised, “I’ll explain it to you when this is all over.  Drinks are on me.”

“I won’t argue that.”  He then sauntered away in the direction of the rest of the crew further down the beach.

“Well.  That was an interesting lesson in diplomacy,” John murmured, walking up beside his wife.  His eyes didn’t leave the krogan.

“I had it fully under control,” she assured him.  “Oh, and next time, better tell Williams to find better cover.  Wrex knew she was there all along.  So did I.”

John ignored the chiding.  Instead, he signaled Alenko and Williams to rejoin the crew while leading his wife back over to Kirrahe’s tent.  “We’ve got a plan of sorts,” he told her.

“Oh?”  She looked between the two.  “Tell me about it.”

The salarian appeared almost eager to do so.  “We can convert our ship’s drive system into a weapon, the equivalent of a twenty ton ordnance.  It’ll be crude, but effective.”

Brows rising, Jane darted a quick look over at John.  He was better with that sort of thing than she was.  He nodded.  “He’s right.”

“Sooooo … we drop it on the facility and kiss Saren’s ass goodbye, right?” she asked.

Kirrahe shook his head.  “Unfortunately, the facility is too well fortified for that.  We’ll have to set it in a precise location.”

Jane keyed in on the phrase.  “A precise location.”  Sighing, for that sort of thing never bode well, she asked, “Where exactly would that be?”

“On the far side of the facility,” he explained.  “Your ship can drop it off, but we’ll have to infiltrate the base, disable the AA guns and pacify any ground troops between here and there first.”  The captain looked between John and Jane.  “We don’t have enough forces to meet them head on.”

“Not even combined with ours?” Jane asked.  A side glance at her husband resulted in his head shaking.

“I will divide my remaining men into three teams,” Kirrahe explained, “and we will hit the front of the facility.  While we distract them, you and your ‘shadow’ team can sneak in through the back.”

“‘Shadow’ team?” she echoed softly.  Nodding, she told him, “You do realize that you’ll lose most of your men in a frontal attack, don’t you?”

“We are tougher than we look,” he replied, “but it’s true.  I doubt many of us will survive.  Still, it’s the only plan we have.  And it makes what I’m about to ask even more difficult.”

Jane frowned.  “And that is?”

“I need one of your people to come along with us.  To help coordinate our teams,” he explained.  

Drawing in a deep breath, Jane nodded.  Half turning towards John, her gaze drifted past his shoulder and further down the beach where she could see the others.  Narrowing down the choices was easy enough for the most part.

“Who are you thinking?” John asked, his eyes following hers.  

“Williams or Alenko,” she replied.  Her head tilted to the right as she reevaluated her own words.  “Scratch that -- Williams.  You and Alenko can get the bomb ready and place it properly.  Williams is a fighter.  A soldier.  This is the sort of thing she’s best at.”  She looked up at her husband.  “What do you think?”

“I think it’s a solid plan,” he told her quietly.  “I’ll go tell her.”

While he strode off, Jane turned back towards Kirrahe.  He was signaling someone nearby with a hand gesture.  “One of my men will help yours with the ordnance,” he explained.  “They will see that it gets loaded onto your ship and they can explain to your people the detonation sequence.”

Jane nodded.  “Thank you, Captain.”

She followed John’s trail down the beach, arriving just as Williams started walking away.  Hurrying over, Jane said, “Be careful, Chief.  We need you back in one piece.”

Williams nodded, flashing a smile at her.  “Wrex said you’re buying the first round, Commander,” she teased.  “You bet your ass I’ll be back in once piece for that!”  Then with a smart salute, she hurried off to join the salarians.

“Any questions?” John was asking as Jane stepped over.  He glanced down towards her.  “So, your shadow team?”

_Good question_ , she mused silently.  “Can you handle getting the bomb ready without Alenko?” she asked her husband.  “I’d like to have him with me in case I need some hacking that’s beyond my skill.”

John’s brow lifted at her subtle suggestion that she wasn’t good enough, but he nodded.  “I can handle the setup part easily enough,” he told her.

“I can help with the bomb, too,” Tali offered.

Jane nodded.  “Please,” she told the quarian.  “Garrus, I’d like you with me, as well.”

He took a step towards her.  “Turian input?”

Jane snorted.  “Something like that.”  Turning towards Wrex, she asked, “Can you help move the bomb in place?  That thing’ll need some heavy lifters.”

“Consider it done, Shepard.”

She looked back up at John.  “I think that’ll do it for now.  When we set the bomb in place, if I need to switch up I can do it then.”

“Got it.”  He nodded at the rest of the crew.  “Let’s get back aboard, folks.  We’ve got a bomb to prep.”  

Jane started turning away, but was halted by her husband’s hand on her upper arm.  Facing him, she opened her mouth to ask what was going on, but he startled her by pulling her close for a quick, heated, ambush style kiss instead.  “For luck,” he said.

Sighing, she tilted her head to rest on his shoulder briefly and pointedly ignored the rest of her crew.  “You too,” she murmured, then finally pulled free and took off after Alenko and Garrus.

 

~ n ~

 

Jane met up with her team on the far side of the beach.  As she passed the salarians, she smiled, listening to Captain Kirrahe encourage his men on with a rousing speech.  She wondered briefly if she should have done the same, but it was too late now and worrying about it only served as a distraction.  

Walking up, Jane asked, “Ready to go?”

Garrus nodded while making a final adjustment to the mod on his sniper rifle and Alenko passed over a pouch of grenades to her.  “We are set, ma’am,” he assured her.  

Pressing a button on her omnitool, Jane brought up the hazy radar map image, noting the placement of the salarian groups as they, too, began to head out.  Kirrahe’s voice started chattering over their comm system, and she glanced at the other two.  Nodding, she murmured, “Let’s go.”

“ _Do you read me, Commander?_ ”

“Loud and clear, Captain,” she replied immediately.  “We are about to head out.”

“ _Good.  We’ll try to push around to the front and make it around to the AA guns, but it may be up to you to finish the job._ ”

“Understood.”  Jane glanced between Alenko and Garrus, both of whom nodded.  

“ _And if you see any other ways to undermine their defenses along the way, it would be appreciated._ ”

“Roger that.  Good luck, Captain.”

“ _Good luck to us all, Commander._ ”

Dropping over the wall, they started walking through the low creekbed headed in the general direction of the facility.  In the distance, Jane could already see what would likely be their first target.  If a watchtower was standing, chances were it was manned.  She pointed up ahead.  Alenko nodded and Garrus grunted softly.  As Jane led them behind cover, the turian used his scope to scan the area.  “Geth up ahead,” he rumbled softly.  He paused for a minute and Jane thought she heard him whispering.  “I count six at least, but probably more.”

“Go right,” Jane told him.  “Alenko, go left.  I’ll come up the center.  Once we get up there, Alenko check to see if there’s some way to disrupt the communications with that satellite.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Any questions?”  Both shook their heads.  “Let’s make this as quick and silent as possible.”

The geth were ready and waiting, of course, but with fire coming from three directions it was relatively easy to take them down.  While Alenko ran up to the top level to work on the communications system, Jane and Garrus fanned out below to search for additional support.  Within a few minutes, Alenko rejoined them.  “The geth won’t be using that tower anymore,” he said.

Jane nodded.  “Good job, LT.  Let’s get moving.”

As they continued winding their way through the maze of rivulets and sandy beaches, more chatter came over the line.  Jane tossed a quick smile in Alenko’s direction as Kirrahe made mention of something scrambling the geth targeting systems.  It wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things, but it was a start and every little bit helped.

Shots from up ahead brought their focus back to the matter at hand, and Garrus was quick to take out the target.  Moving forward and around a corner, it became clear that drones would be part of the picture as well.

“Annoying little bastards,” Jane muttered.  “As bad as mosquitoes, only they buzz louder.”  She ignored the chuckles from her companions.  

They rounded another corner, seeking shelter immediately as shots came at them from a nearby platform.  “Krogan!” Jane hissed, dropping behind a cluster of boulders.  Alenko used a biotic Throw aimed at them before moving to her left.  They were separated by open space from Garrus who took shelter on the right.  Between them, however, and with some patience employed, they were able to take out the krogan.

“Those were tougher than most krogan,” Garrus muttered.

Jane led them up the walkway to a series of interconnected man made paths and platforms.  Turning towards him, she asked, “Are you serious?”

He shrugged.  “I thought so, but I suppose it could just seem that way.”

“Adrenaline,” Alenko murmured.  “It can mess with how you view things.”

“Yeah.”

Frowning, Jane had to wonder.  “You don’t suppose that Saren’s messing with them somehow?  In addition to creating them for his army, I mean.  Some sort of … super-soldier-krogan, maybe?”

Alenko winced and Garrus’ mandibles fluttered at her suggestion.  “All the more reason to destroy this place,” the turian observed.

Continuing on, they worked their way past another group of geth rocket drones.  Around this corner they spotted another tower in the distance.  “Looks like a satellite tower,” Alenko murmured.

“Great.”  Jane glanced over at Garrus.  “I don’t suppose you can take it out with your sniper rifle?”

Garrus raised his rifle and checked the scope.  His finger twitched slowly against the trigger, the shot escaping silently from the barrel.  Had she not been looking for it, she wouldn’t have noticed it.  Following the shot’s trajectory, they saw it hit.  A moment later, the satellite dish started listing heavily to one side before finally crashing to the platform below.  Shouts and cries of attack and alarm could be heard, but as Jane led her team in closer, it became clear the dish itself had done most of the work for them, taking out many of the geth and at least one krogan in the fall.  Any stragglers were eliminated easily thereafter.

“You are handy to have around,” Jane told Garrus as they continued on.  

Garrus said nothing, but if Jane was learning to read him accurately, his mandibles shifted uneasily at the compliment.  

More chatter erupted over the comms from Kirrahe and the STG teams.  Williams had a few insights as to the disruption the takedown of the satellite caused, too.  

Jane glanced briefly down at the map at her wrist to determine their next move.  

“Flying drones incoming,” Alenko alerted her.  “Again.”

Before Jane could say a word, both Alenko and Garrus launched sabotage attacks at the drones.  With the proximity of the three to one another, they went down quickly, quietly, and with finality in a jumble of sparks and smoke.  Blinking, she glanced between her two companions.  “Okay, who’s been holding out on me?” she demanded.

Garrus remained silent, but Alenko pulled a straight face, responding, “I’m not sure what you mean, ma’am.”

She gave him the flattest stare she could manage.  “That was no ordinary sabotage attack.  One of you -- maybe both! -- have been tweaking it.  Why wasn’t I brought into the loop?”

Garrus made a choking sound and turned away, but Alenko simply reached over and pressed a button on her omnitool.  Jane’s eyes dropped to the red flashing light in the corner indicating incoming information.  It soon switched to green.  “Good to go, ma’am,” Alenko assured her, stepping back.

Sighing, Jane just nodded.  She could give them both a hard time about it later, she supposed.  The mission had to come first.  At least now they would be more effective together.  “Right.  Moving on.”

Infiltrating the base itself was a more difficult challenge.  They ran into more of Saren’s new krogan, who again reinforced Jane’s suggestion of a new super-soldier type of the breed, as well as plenty more geth.  

“We need to find a way inside!” Jane huffed as she ducked and dodged a swing by one of the krogan who had come barrelling towards her.  She spun around on her heel and shot at him twice in rapid succession with her shotgun.  

“There’s an entrance below,” Alenko called over.  Using Lift on the krogan who was turning back towards Jane, Garrus finally got a shot through it’s thick skull and took it out.  

“There’s also one down this way,” Garrus announced, pointing to their right.

Jane, already on the path leading down that Alenko suggested, called back, “I opt this way.  Let’s go.”

They reached a barrier and Jane dropped to fiddle with the access mechanism.  When the door went sliding open, she ushered the other two inside first then followed, closing it behind them.  Fighting their way inside, they soon reached a doorway leading inside the base proper.

“Commander,” Garrus mused, his fingers tapping across a nearby console, “take a look at this.”

Jane glanced down at the console.  “What have we got?  Oh.”  She frowned, pointing at a flashing light.  “Roll that back again, Garrus.”  He did as asked and she read the message.  “Crap, reinforcements heading towards the front of the base.”

Alenko stepped over to the other side of the console.  “We could completely disable the alarms,” he pointed out, “which would allow us to get inside quickly and quietly, leaving Saren’s army to head towards Kirrahe and his men.  Or,” his finger dropped to point at a different message, “we can trigger the alarms on this side of the complex.  It would divert them _towards_ us and away from STG, giving them a better chance at success.”

Jane chewed on her lip, considering both options.  Their mission was to infiltrate and get to the bomb disbursement point as quickly as possible.  But to lose so many people in the process?  Including one of their own?  Logic said the mission came first at all costs, but Jane wasn’t so sure in this case.

Reaching over, Jane pressed the button that set the alarms off on their side of the building.  “Come on,” she told them without looking at their faces.  “We’re going to have our work cut out for us.”

 


	30. Chapter 30

 

Once loaded into the _Normandy_ ’s shuttle bay, the final adjustments to the salarian bomb surprisingly took only a few minutes.  Glancing over at the STG operative who’d guided him and Tali through the final steps, John commented, “That’s a pretty nifty trick.”

The salarian nodded.  “We have to be quick thinking,” he reminded John.  “The easier, the better.”  

“This certainly qualifies,” John agreed.  

“ _Commander?_ ”

John tapped his earpiece.  “What is it, Joker?”

“ _We’ve got a problem.  I need you up here -- like ASAP, sir!_ ”

Sighing, John asked the salarian, “Are we good to go?”

The salarian nodded.  “We are.  All that is left is dropping it off.”

“I’ll be back down for that,” John called back over his shoulder as he started for the lift.  “Let me see what’s going on up on the bridge first.”

It took less than two minutes for John to reach the bridge.  “What have you got, Joker?”

Before him, the pilot had a larger map display of the planet showing the current locations of the STG teams, Jane’s team, and the known positions of Saren’s ship and people.  Joker’s finger jabbed at a dark red mark.  It was moving.  “ _That_ ,” he announced with emphasis, “is Saren’s ship -- _Sovereign_?  Whatever’s going on down there, something just stirred it and everything around it up, and by that I mean a shit storm!  That thing was orbiting in low atmo and it just reversed its course in a move you just don’t see ships doing without breaking apart and falling from the sky!”

John’s eyes followed the blip on the map as it moved towards the base.  It looked as if it was picking up speed, too.  “Safe to say something triggered it?”

Joker’s hands were already flying over his controls and in the background, John could hear the usual sounds associated with the _Normandy_ preparing to move out.  “Or some _one_.  Safe bet the Commander’s done something down there to piss it off.”

John was already reaching up to press the comm and switch channels.  “Jane, can you hear me?”

There was static for a few seconds, then the familiar click as her end of the communications link took hold.  “ _Kinda busy at the moment!_ ”

In the background, John caught a loud rumbling mixed with the unmistakable sounds of crashing.  “What’s going on?   _Sovereign_ just pulled a move that’d shear our ships in half if they tried it.  It’s heading your way and fast.”

There was hesitation from Jane’s end of things, and John thought he heard her grunt roughly, but when she spoke again it was clearly an order.  “ _Meet us at the breeding facility.  Time to get that bomb set and get the hell out of here!_ ”

“Roger that.  Meet you there.”  He disconnected the comms and turned to leave the bridge, calling over his shoulder, “Get us there ASAP, Joker.”

“Aye, sir!”

John hurried back to the shuttle bay.  When he arrived, he found Wrex had moved over to join the salarian and Tali.  Liara stood nearby, too.  “Be ready, folks,” he announced as he stalked over.  “We’re about to see if this thing works and we may have company in the process.”

 

~ n ~

 

Finding a fully functional beacon had been a surprise, but Jane’s decision to access it like she had the one on Eden Prime wasn’t.  If anything, a wave of calm assuredness flowed through her once spying the prothean device.  Walking straight over to it, she waited for the pull like it used on her before, and then just … let go.  Relaxing into whatever the beacon had in store for her, she did her best to simply open herself to the visions it emitted, welcoming them.

The discussion with _Sovereign_ that came after, on the other hand, was _not_ expected.  Nor was the realization that the thing wasn’t just a ship, but a sentient being bent on the destruction of the entire galaxy.  She knew she’d angered it -- the shattering of glass and violent rolling of the building around them was clear indication of that -- and so she wasn’t really surprised to hear from John that it was headed towards the base.  

“Time to get moving,” she told Alenko and Garrus.  “We’ve got a bomb to set.”

Their return back to the breeding facility took some time -- reinforcements were an inevitability, and if Rana Thanoptis’ information had been correct, _Sovereign_ could direct the krogan army and any of the others, including Saren, to his whim.

Bursting through a final set of doors, they found the _Normandy_ already arrived, and Jane soon spotted her husband, the salarian STG operative and Wrex carrying the converted drive core off the ship.  Hustling over, she asked, “Good to go?”

John nodded.  “Yeah.  Just a few adjustments to be made once it’s in place, but I think we’re set.”

“What do you need from me?”

A crackle across comms alerted all in the area to the fact that the STG units were coming under attack by additional forces.  “ _Commander, can you hear me?_ ” Williams broke across the line.

Jane responded immediately.  “The bomb is in place, Chief.  Get to the rendezvous point and --”

“ _Negative,_ ” Williams broke across, cutting Jane off.  “ _We’re pinned down on the AA tower by the geth.  We’re taking heavy casualties!_ ”

“Watch for the _Normandy_ ,” Jane told her, glancing over at John who nodded.  “Joker will fly in and pick all of you up.”

“ _It’s too hot,_ ” she insisted.  “ _Too much of a risk.  We’ll hold them off while you --_ ”

“Go get them,” John broke in.  “We need a few minutes to finish arming this thing.  Go get them and meet us back here.”

Nodding, Jane pointed at Wrex and Garrus.  “You two, with me.  Up to the AA tower.  Move!”

Launching herself forward, Jane headed back the direction from which she’d arrived.  “We’re on our way, Chief,” she told Williams.  “Be ready.”

They had to fight their way through another wave of Saren’s troops before they reached the lift taking them to the rooftop access.  As they exited, a roar from overhead had all three looking upwards.  

“Damn,” Wrex muttered.  “The geth are sending in more reinforcements.”

“ _Skipper_ ,” Williams’ voice broke across the comms, “ _geth dropship heading your way._ ”

There was a brief moment of static, and when combined with the sound of heavy fighting in the background when John answered, Jane’s stomach dropped.  “ _It’s already here and geth are flooding the bomb site.  Alenko, watch your flank!”_  There was a moment of crackling but otherwise silence, then, _“Tali!”_

Touching the piece at her ear, Jane said, “Joker?”

Behind them, Jane heard a loud blast and the roar of an engine.  Turning, she saw the _Normandy_ rising above the bomb site.  “ _Unloaded several squads of marines, Commander, but I had to get the ship out before we lost our ride._ ”

“Go grab Williams and the salarians,” Jane informed the pilot, “then head back here.  Hopefully by then we’ll be ready for a pick up.”  The only answer she received was an imagined gunning of the _Normandy_ ’s engines as he departed towards the AA towers.

“ _I’m setting the nuke_ ,” Alenko said over the comm.

“Wait -- what?” Jane shouted.

“ _Do it,_ ” John ordered.  

“John, what are you doing?”  Jane came to a halt, Wrex and Garrus thankfully remaining just a few steps back to give her some space.  

“ _Go get Williams, baby,_ ” John said.  “ _We’ll hold out as long as we can, but we’ll make damned certain that bomb goes off._ ”

“ _It’s set, Commander,_ ” Alenko informed them.  

Jane hesitated, flabbergasted by the sudden switch in the plan, and it wasn’t until John shouted, “ _Jane, go get Williams!_ ” that she broke free from it.

“Shit!”  Jane started pacing back and forth as Williams, Alenko and her husband continued arguing over who should be saved.  “Can it, all of you!” Jane finally shouted, anger, irritation and fear getting the better of her.  Spinning on her heel, she glared over at Garrus and Wrex.  “Go get Williams and the salarians and make sure they get aboard the _Normandy_.  Joker will meet us back at the bomb site just as soon as you’re all loaded up.  And if anything else starts going sideways, let me know, otherwise I expect to see you there!”

“Got it, Commander!” Garrus didn’t hesitate and started off towards the AA towers.  Wrex nodded once before lumbering after the turian.

Jane spun around on her heel and jumped back into the elevator.  “Dammit, John,” she growled over the comm, “leave it to you to still be looking for ways to make up for Elysium!”

There was a snort from the other end of the line.  “ _Who says I’m succeeding?_ ”  

A hint of pain in his tone mixed with stress was her first clue that something was off.  “John?”  The elevator came to a halt, but the doors didn’t open immediately.  Jane pounded her fist against the panel in frustration.  “John!”

A burst of deafening static blew across the line, and as she exited the elevator Jane was met by a few of the geth reinforcements.  Thankfully, their numbers were few and a biotic Throw mixed with a Warp and a couple of blasts from her shotgun were all that was needed to clear a path.  

On the other side of the doorway, Jane broke through to find the battle still fully engaged, though the dropship was lifting off and heading away from their area.  “Garrus,” she shouted into her comm, “eyes to the sky!  They’re headed your way now!”

“ _Got it, Commander!_ ”

Over by the bomb, Jane spotted John kneeling beside the device.  Alenko was on the far side, behind cover and occasionally taking shots at the geth when timing allowed.  Tali was on the right doing the same.  Everyone else was either down or had made it aboard the _Normandy_ before it left.  

Adding covering fire of her own, Jane scrambled over to the bomb.  “Just what in all that’s holy do you think you’re doing, John?” she demanded as she dropped beside him.  She spared him a quick glance as she switched out her shotgun for a pistol, and that was when she noticed the blood at his shoulder.  “Shit!”

She reached out towards him, but he caught her hand and shook his head.  Grimacing, he insisted, “It’s just a flesh wound.  You should have gone for Williams.”

“You aren’t the one giving orders here,” she informed him.  She lifted her omnitool and pressed a sequence of buttons before placing it over the wound.  She liked to think she saw a softening of his eyes as the medigel was released, but Jane wasn’t sure.  “Alenko, sitrep?” she called over to him as she worked.

“Geth are cleared, ma’am,” he returned a moment later.  There was a hitch in his tone as well, and Jane darted a quick glance over.  “I’m okay.”  He staggered over to them from his previous position and knelt down.  “Overclocked my amp is all.”

“All?”  Jane sighed.  “Great.  Okay, two down.  Tali, what about you?”

“Minor tear in my suit.  I’m okay, Commander, but there’s more coming!”

Jane looked up to find the quarian pointing at the far end of the area.  It wasn’t a ship, so far as she could tell, but it was some sort of air transportation.  “Cover them!” she ordered Tali as she rose and started in that direction.  “Watch out for any geth stragglers!  We’ve got to hold out for the _Normandy_!”

Ignoring the shouts of her people as she walked away, Jane focused on the sole target ahead of her.  It didn’t take long to figure out who it was.  “Saren!”  She dove for cover as he shot some sort of attack -- biotic or not, she wasn’t sure, but all the same she ducked just to be safe -- and rolled behind a buttress extending from the main building.  Heaving in a few deep breaths, she held one briefly to calm herself.  Only then did she step out to face him, her weapon raised and aimed.  Taking several steps in his direction, she fired once.  Twice.  A third time.  His shields blocked each shot from connecting.

“An impressive diversion, Shepard,” the rogue Spectre droned as Jane ducked back under cover, crouching and adjusting the mods on her pistol.  “My geth were utterly convinced the salarians were the real threat.  Of course, it was all for nothing.  I can’t let you disrupt everything I’ve accomplished here.  You can’t possibly understand what’s really at stake.”

Jane debated with herself for all of about a half second.  She had to keep him talking and buy herself and her people a little time.  “Why are you doing this?” she demanded.

“You’ve seen the vision from the beacon, Shepard.  You, of all people, should understand what the Reapers are capable of.  They cannot be stopped.”  His voice held a tone of acceptance that was unnerving.  It reminded her of the indoctrinated Benezia, and was one she vowed to never give into herself.  “Do not mire yourself in pointless revolt.  Do not sacrifice everything for the sake of petty freedoms.  The protheans tried to fight, and they were utterly destroyed.  Trillions dead.  But what if they had bowed before the invaders?  Would the protheans still exist?  Is submission not preferable to extinction?”

Breathing heavily, Jane rose to her feet once more.  Stepping out to face him, she growled angrily, “I’d rather die than live under the rule of those machines!”

His eyes met hers, and Jane focused on them for a long moment.  “Now you see why I never brought this before the Council,” he continued.  “We organics are driven by emotion instead of logic.  We will fight even when we know we can’t win.  But  if we work with the Reapers -- if we prove ourselves useful! -- think how many lives could be spared!  Once I understood this, I joined _Sovereign_ , though I was aware of the … dangers.  I had hoped this facility would protect me.”

_BINGO!_  The conversation with Rana Thanoptis came rushing back and when mixed with his words, the look in his eyes and compared to Benezia’s reactions, Jane found the loophole she needed.  She just hoped it would get through to him.  “But it isn’t, is it?” she challenged.  “You’re afraid _Sovereign_ is influencing you.  That he’s controlling your thoughts.”

If Saren was startled by her jump in logic, he didn’t show it.  “I’ve studied the effects of indoctrination,” he admitted.  “The more control _Sovereign_ exerts, the less capable the subject becomes.  That is my saving grace.   _Sovereign_ needs me to find the Conduit.  My mind is still my own … for now.  But the transformation from ally to servant can be subtle.  I will not let it happen to me.”

Jane snorted, a look of derision and disgust crossing her features.  “It already has!   _Sovereign_ ’s already got you under his control and you don’t even know it!”

“No!” Saren insisted, shaking his head.  “ _Sovereign_ needs me to find the Conduit!  If I can do that, I will be spared!  This is my only hope!”

Eyes narrowing, Jane said, “Don’t you see?  You’re just a tool -- _Sovereign_ ’s already using you!  In the end, you’ll just be tossed aside along with all the rest!”

Saren’s mandibles twitched and his eyes closed to slits.  “Do you think I can be swayed, Shepard?” he demanded.  “That I haven’t already thought of this?   _Sovereign_ is a machine.  Thinks like a machine.  If I can prove my value, I become a resource worth maintaining.  There is no other logical conclusion.”

Apparently, reasoning was one of the things to go as soon as one was indoctrinated.  That, or Saren had never learned how to reason things out.  “What is the Conduit?” she asked.  “Tell me why he needs it.  Maybe we can find a way out of this and stop him.”

“The Conduit is the key to your destruction and my salvation,” he insisted.  “ _Sovereign_ needs my help to find it.  That’s the only reason I have not been indoctrinated.  Join us, Shepard!  Prove your value and you will be saved!”

Right arm rising again, a strong blue aura surrounding it, Jane spat out even as she launched the biotic Throw from her arm, “I’m not like you, Saren.  I’d rather die fighting than live as a slave!”  She followed immediately with a biotic Warp from her left hand.

Stunned and caught off guard -- he almost looked as if he had other things to say -- Saren jumped back aboard his flying platform.  Jane dove for cover behind a shipping container off to the side, arms rising to protect the top of her head from debris as a shot from Saren’s weapon connected with the wall above.  What followed next was a fast paced free for all. Jane spent much of it ducking and dodging while Saren maneuvered easily.  She attempted to use her pistol a time or two, but her only true success came several minutes into the battle when another biotic Throw managed to dislodge the turian from his platform.  It didn’t do much to stop him, however.  He stalked towards her, reaching out and easily grasping hold of her around her throat with his long arms and lifting her high into the air.  Jane struggled to find a way to free herself.  She told herself not to panic, even as she fought to get air.  A crash from behind him had Saren looking away for just a moment, and that was the break Jane needed.  Balling her hand into a fist and pulling a biotic aura around it, she drew back and punched him in the face  with as much strength as she could manage as he turned back towards her.  It was just enough, and his grasping hold broke.  Jane dropped heavily to the ground, gasping for air.  She reached for her pistol and pushed awkwardly to her feet, but Saren jumped aboard his platform and fled.  Taking a couple of staggering steps after him, Jane still struggled for air, but at that point she knew it was a lost cause.  He was gone.

The roar of familiar engines flying in served as a focus, and Jane’s head lifted to see the _Normandy_ come swooping in like a bird of prey.  “Just in the nick of time,” she rasped.

“ _Didn’t think I’d leave you here all alone, did you, Commander?_ ” Joker asked.  

Jane coughed, the tightness in her throat difficult to get past just then.  A strong hand at her shoulder guided her towards the entry at the shuttle bay, and Jane looked over to find Alenko sliding her arm over his shoulder.  “Let’s get you to sick bay, ma’am,” he said.  “Doctor Chakwas should take a look at you.”

“John …?”

“Tali’s helping him there now,” the lieutenant promised.

“How much … time?”  Jane’s eyes met his and she tapped her earpiece again.  “Joker, get us the hell out of here _NOW_!”

“ _Done and done, Commander!_ ”  The whine of the _Normandy_ ’s engines was the only thing in their ears as they made their way to the lift.

 


	31. Chapter 31

 

“Commander?”

Jane sat on the floor, back squared against the wall, and shivered in the darkness.  Why did it figure that Alenko would find her first?  Was it some sort of biotic thing?  A sentinel thing?  He was perceptive, she’d give him that, but it was almost uncanny how he seemed to be able to guess her movements aboard ship.  Even more accurately than John at times.  “I swear to God, Alenko,” she managed, only a hint of raspiness remaining in her tone, “if you’ve planted some sort of GPS tracker on me ….”

He entered the observation lounge quietly.  Thankfully, he didn’t activate the lights.  The last thing she needed right now was for the lieutenant to see just how badly affected by events on Virmire she was all these hours later. His booted steps were soft against the floor as he crossed the room.  He halted only once he stood directly in front of her.  Then, surprisingly, he dropped to a knee and reached a hand towards her.  Blinking, it took a half second for her to recognize the aroma before spotting what was in his hand.  Reaching out, she relieved him of the mug and pulled the tea close.  “Thanks, LT,” she whispered, sincerity flooding her tone.

“You’re welcome,” he replied quietly.  But where she thought he might rise and leave, he didn’t.  Instead, he dropped completely to the floor, scooting around to sit beside her and leaving a space where she could set her mug between them when she was done.  “And no,” he added, a hint of a smirk in his tone, “I haven’t planted any tracking devices on you.  Yet.”

Jane snorted softly, but busied herself with taking a careful sip of the hot drink.  She noticed the difference immediately; the slightly spicier kick with just a hint of … apple?  She frowned and dared another cautious taste.   _Definitely apple._ It mixed surprisingly well with the tea, and she smiled her appreciation at him while taking a third sip.  It also didn’t hurt that it was more palatable than John’s whiskey.  

They sat in a companionable silence for a time and Jane found it to be a very grounding experience.  The option to talk was there -- she could sense that easily enough -- but it wasn’t as if he was expecting it, and for that she was thankful.  In fact, the silence lasted until the door to the lounge opened once again and she glanced over to recognize the silhouetted form standing there, hoodie in hand.  Sighing, Jane set the now empty mug down and murmured, “You messaged him?”

“Before I entered the room, ma’am,” Alenko assured her.  But the smile was in his voice.

Jane managed a soft, albeit small, chuckle.  “Care to join us?” she called over to her husband.

John stepped into the room and was over beside them within moments.  He sat on the edge of the chair Jane was half-hidden behind and dropped the hoodie into her lap.  Without a word, she slipped it around her shoulders, arms sliding easily into the sleeves.  He knew her oh so well.  

“We’re on our way back to the Citadel,” he announced.  “Joker says it’ll take another sixteen hours, give or take.”

Jane sighed softly, nodding.  Lifting her hands, she rubbed them over her face.  “I wonder how badly the Council is going to hang me out to dry over this one,” she mused aloud.

John frowned and glanced over at Alenko who shrugged and appeared just as confused.  “What do you mean?” John asked.

Her eyes drifted to the window.  “If they nearly took my head off about the Thorian and the rachni, can you imagine what they’ll do to me for exploding a nuclear bomb?”

“Ma’am,” Kaidan was quick to interject, “that wasn’t your call.”

“He’s right,” John added when he saw Jane beginning to shake her head back and forth slowly.  “That was Kirrahe’s call, not yours.  The Council has no reason --”

“You were in the initial debrief with me when I called them,” she said, looking up at John.  “You heard Valern and Sparatus.  God!  Why did they choose me to be a Spectre if they’re not even going to back me up on anything?  Is it this much of a fight for every Spectre out there, or just the lone human one?”  Her head dropped backwards, thumping softly against the wall.  “Dammit to hell!  We nearly lost half our --”

“But we didn’t,” John insisted, cutting her off.  “Like always, you managed to find a way to accomplish the mission and retrieve your people.”

“Thanks to you,” she pointed out quickly.  “But, John, how are we ever going to succeed with the mission objective?  The Council clearly doesn’t believe the Reaper threat is real, and that’s what’s driving Saren!”  Her voice rose, anger and frustration clearly evident.  “At this point, if I could just get them to accept that Saren believes it’s real, I’d think it progress!  How do we fight this thing successfully if they don’t get it?  I _know_ it’s real -- our little visit with Sovereign filled in any missing gaps, don’t you think?  But they weren’t there to see Sovereign or to hear him speak to me!”

Alenko rose quietly, retrieving the empty mug, and then slipped out of the room.  As he vacated the space, John moved to sit beside his wife.  “I wish I had some definitive answers for you,” he said quietly.  “Something concrete that would guarantee they will listen.  But I don’t.”

Sighing heavily, she nodded, dropping her head to rest on his shoulder.  She didn’t protest when his arm slide around her, drawing her close.  

They sat in silence for a time, which was fine by her.  He understood that once in a while, silence was just as good as talking.  

Eventually, however, she broke that silence.  “It was a close call,” she murmured.  In his arms as she was, Jane couldn’t miss the shudder that worked its way through him.  

“Too damned close,” he agreed.  

“I thought … I was afraid I’d lost you and Alenko back there,” she admitted after a hesitation.  “At the end.”

He huffed a soft laugh.  “Yeah, I almost thought you had, too,” he returned.  “Then you showed up.  Though, I’ll admit that hearing you battle that bastard Saren nearly had me jumping out of my skin.”  He sighed in frustration.  “What the hell drove you to goad him on like that, Jane?”

Jane sighed.  “I had to do something,” she told him.  “If I kept him talking, I’d keep him away from Williams and the salarians and from attacking you, Alenko and Tali directly.  It was a stall tactic, pure and simple, to give Joker time to come back around.  And _maybe_ in the process I could find out something important.”  She shook her head.  “Not sure about that last, but the rest was successful at least.”

“Good call splitting up from Wrex and Garrus.”  He pulled one of her hands in his, his thumb began stroking idly over the back of her hand, tracing knuckles and muscle.  “Christ, Jane … the thought I could have --”

Jane turned her hand in his and squeezed.  “You didn’t,” she reminded him.  “And from what Wrex and Garrus said -- well, Garrus, mostly – Williams has got guts.  Honestly, I wouldn’t want to be any of the geth _she_ faced!”

A soft chuckle rumbled through his chest.  “Like another woman I know,” he told her.  Sighing, he added, “That was close, too, but Doc says she’ll be right as rain in a few days.  Some bruising, a broken finger, couple of cracked ribs, a few scrapes.  The usual collateral damage.  Nothing that shouldn’t heal up quickly.  Kirrahe’s team took some substantial losses, but we got the rest of them out, too.”  

“Good.”  Turning, Jane moved to straddle his lap, settling herself so she was facing him.  “I don’t want to lose you,” she whispered, leaning over to kiss his cheek.  “I can’t do this alone, you know that.”

John’s hand rose and cradled the back of her head gently even as he barked out a laugh.  “Are you kidding me?  I’m married to the first human Spectre and she kicks ass better than anyone else I can think of.  No one’s stopping you, baby!”

Jane understood what he was attempting and she tried to laugh.  It escaped as a strangled sob, however, and she lowered her head back down to his shoulder even as his arms wrapped around her tightly.  “John --”

“I know, I know,” he murmured softly next to her ear, “and I’m sorry if I worried you.  You know it wasn’t my intention.”  He nuzzled the side of her neck.  “It really _is_ a flesh wound, by the way.  Doc even said so.”

She nodded.  Inhaling deeply, she took comfort from the scents that were uniquely him.  “Maybe there is logic in having us work separately,” she admitted.

“Maybe, but I doubt you’d find Anderson agreeing.”

She smiled, her lips curving against his neck.  “No doubt.  He’s been our fan pretty much from day one, hasn’t he?”

John laughed.  “Ever since you insisted we stick around during the attack on that recruiting station in London just to warn him they were a target,” John agreed.  “As if he didn’t already know.”

Snuffling a soft laugh, Jane whispered, “Yeah, well, hindsight is twenty-twenty.”

“True enough.”  John shifted slightly, holding her so she wouldn’t fall.  “So.  We’re headed back to the Citadel.  What do you say I take you out to dinner before we head back out after Saren?  I’d say we’ve earned it.”

Jane poked him gently in his belly.  “There you go, always thinking with your stomach,” she teased.

“Ow!  Hey --”

“Oh, don’t even start.”  Straightening, she looped her arms around his shoulders and looked directly into his eyes.  “I know you better than that.”

He rolled his eyes, but didn’t argue.  Instead, he tightened his arms around her and somehow found a way to his feet with her still wrapped around him.  As he lifted her, she hooked her legs around his waist to keep from falling.  He started towards the door, and Jane asked, “Where are we headed?”

“Cabin, where else?”

Laughing, Jane released her hold on him and carefully dropped to the floor.  “Well, I hate to burst your bubble, Romeo, but I need to go speak with Liara first.  How about I meet you there in about, oh, a half hour?”

John reached over, wrapping one arm loosely around her hip and pulling her close for one last kiss.  “It’s a date,” he told her.  “See you in thirty.”

 

~ n ~

 

Passing through the medbay, Jane checked briefly with Dr. Chakwas on Williams’ condition, and after being reassured that the Chief would be fine in a few days, she continued on to the back room.  Inside, sitting at her computer console, Jane found Liara hard at work.  “Hey there,” she greeted the asari.

Liara glanced up from her monitor.  “Commander!”  Jumping to her feet, she pulled another chair around.  “I understand you took the brunt of the attack by Saren.”

Laughing softly, Jane nodded and dropped into the seat.  “You could say that,” she agreed.  “Not my finest hour, perhaps, but it worked.  Thank God!”

“Indeed.”  Liara sat back down and faced Jane.  “What can I do for you, Commander?”

Sighing softly, Jane sat back and stretched her arms over her head.  The soft popping of her shoulders eased any residual tension left from the battle.  “On Virmire, when Alenko and Garrus and I spoke with Sovereign -- there was a beacon in that room,” she explained.  “Like the one I found on Eden Prime.”  

“A prothean beacon?” Liara breathed in awe.

Jane nodded.  “It was whole, and I interacted with it.  Like the first one.”  Taking a breath, she concluded, “Liara, I think I got the entire info dump this time.  The beacon didn’t break when it released me.”

Liara’s eyes narrowed in concentration.  “The whole info dump …?  Oh!  You mean -- you -- Oh!”

Chuckling softly at the play of emotions across Liara’s face, Jane nodded.  “Oh,” she agreed.  “I was wondering if you might want to do another one of your mind reading capture things -- see if there’s anything else we can find out?  During the battle, Saren mentioned something called the Conduit and --”

“I know.  Tali told me, and I’ve been researching it as best I can ever since we left Virmire,” Liara admitted.  “Unfortunately, I haven’t found anything to suggest what it is or where it might be found.”  She tilted her head to the side and eyed Jane carefully.  “Are you sure you are up to this, Commander?” she asked.  “You’ve just been through a very trying experience, and --”

Jane nodded without hesitation.  “Do it.”

With each attempt, it was easier for Jane to allow Liara access into her mind.  With a few deep breaths, she relaxed her body and let her thoughts drift freely.  The ‘meet up,’ as she called it, was quick and with Liara to guide her, Jane identified the new memories they were searching for.  Viewing them again, this time in full, was overwhelming to say the least, but in one sense it was less abrupt and violent.  Jane figured by this point she’d determined the best ways to protect herself from the worst of the emotional shock that came with watching the complete and utter destruction of an entire race of people.  

Easing out of the memories was easier this time, too, though it seemed to take a larger toll on Liara.  Opening her eyes, Jane was immediately concerned by the look in Liara’s eyes.  Reaching a hand out, she guided the asari to a nearby chair.  “Are you alright?”

“I -- I will be fine,” Liara replied after a moment.  “It’s just -- it’s a shock to see it all so vividly like that.”

“Yeah.”  Leaning forward, Jane rested her hands on her knees and took a few deep breaths to steady herself.  “How long until you know if you have anything?”

Liara inhaled rather shakily, but when Jane reached over towards her again, she waved the attention off.  “I’m fine, Commander.  I need some time to process it all.  Can I get back to you?”

Nodding, Jane pushed herself to her feet.  “Of course.”  Turning away, she added, “Thank you, Liara.”

“For what?”

Jane looked over her shoulder at the asari.  “I know you still have doubts about your usefulness aboard this ship, but without you we would never have come as far as we have.  No one else can do what you’ve done.  For that, I thank you.  Everyone brings an aspect to this team that makes us stronger.  Better.  That is why we will succeed.”  Without another word, Jane turned and left.

Walking through the medbay, Jane was slightly startled when she heard a loudly whispered, “Psst!  Commander!”  

Turning to her right, Jane spotted Williams awake and waving her over with her good hand.  The doctor was nowhere to be seen at the moment, and worried that the Chief might require some sort of medical attention, Jane  stepped over to the bedside.  “What’s up, Chief?  Need me to get the doc for you?”

“Actually,” Williams replied, hand waving at the bed next to her for Jane to sit, “I’d like to talk for a minute if that’s okay?”

Hesitating only for a moment, Jane nodded.  “Sure.”  She hopped up onto the edge of the bed.  “What’s up?”

“I just … I wanted to thank you for saving my ass back there,” she said bluntly.  Brown eyes lifted to meet green.  “You know, on Virmire.”

Jane’s lips quirked.  “Yeah, Chief, I know,” she teased lightly.  “I _was_ there.”

Chuckling softly, Williams nodded.  “Yeah.  I just … I’ve never met anyone who’d do something like that before,” she explained.  “Not like that, and not for me, anyway.”

Jane frowned.  “Why not?  You’re a good soldier, Williams.  I’m glad to have you on our team.   _Very_ glad, as a matter of fact.”

Williams stared at her long and hard and it was all Jane could do not to squirm under the intense scrutiny.  “You … don’t know, do you?” Williams asked after a couple of minutes.

Jane’s frown deepend.  “Know what, Chief?”

Sighing, Williams moved her good hand to rest behind her head.  Staring up at the ceiling, she asked, “Have you looked at my service record, Commander?  I mean, really looked?”

“Yes.”  She had back when Williams had joined the _Normandy_.  “What about it.”

“Are you telling me there’s nothing there?”

Jane shook her head in confusion.  “Sorry, Chief.  Only thing there are a list of crap assignments, some tech scores and a few otherwise glowing service reviews.”  Her frown returned.  “Come to think of it, not much mentioned in the way of promotions as a result of those reviews.”

Sighing, Williams shifted carefully, wincing a little.  “Yeah, well there’s a reason for that and the string of crap assignments,” she said flatly.  “I’m General Williams’ granddaughter.”  When Jane said nothing, she clarified, “The General in command of the Shanxi garrison in the First Contact War.”

“Shit!”  Jane couldn’t help herself, it slipped out as recognition settled.  

“Yeah.  ‘The only human to ever surrender to an alien race.’”

Dropping to her feet, Jane stepped over to the bedside.  “That wasn’t your fault, Williams, but it certainly explains why you drive yourself so hard.”

“‘A Williams has to be better than the best, if only to avoid suspicion.’  That’s what my Dad told me the night before he retired,” she said.  She snorted.  “It takes a special kind of thickheaded to march into a job where your family’s blacklisted.  I did it anyway.  I’m not going to let our name go down with Arnold or Quisling.  Granddad deserved better than that.”

“Indeed he did,” Jane agreed.  Rubbing her face with her hands, she shook her head.  “I’m sorry I didn’t piece it together sooner.”

Williams half turned on her side to eye Jane more closely.  “You … really didn’t know?”

Jane shook her head again.  “Nope.  Not a clue.  Like I said, nothing really in your records.  Guess I should have seen it anyway.  No one’s _that_ clean and not at least made lieutenant.”  Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair.  “Damn.  I wish I could say I could make it up to you with a promotion when this is all over --”

“Pfft.  I’m not looking for that, Commander,” Williams insisted.  “All I want is a fair shot.  It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“You’ll get it here,” Jane promised.  “With me, with John -- hell, with Anderson and Hackett, the way you’ve helped out.  And if they don’t agree, I’ll be glad to make sure they see it clearly.”  She finished with a sharp nod that caused Williams to giggle softly.  That was a start.  “Seriously, Chief, after all’s said and done, I’ll do what I can towards that end.  I can’t even begin to explain what an asset you’ve been to our team.  I suspect that’s why Anderson agreed to keep you on board.  He’s pulled together the finest for our team.”  She grinned at Williams, “and you’re definitely one of us.  Welcome aboard.”

“Oh, go away,” Williams groaned, hand lowering to cover her eyes awkwardly.  “You’re giving me a headache!”

Chortling, Jane turned to leave.  “Heal up, Williams.  We’ve got a renegade Spectre and a Reaper to track down.  We’re not done yet!”

 


	32. Chapter 32

“Have you seen the Commander?”

Upon their return to the Citadel to update the Council on what they’d found at Virmire, the crew was given liberty but with the stipulation that it could be cancelled at a moment’s notice should any new information come in.  With that in mind, they went their separate ways.  Ashley managed to convince Alenko to join her in the Wards to check out what new mods they could find.  After running into Saren’s army of krogan at Virmire, the Chief wanted every possible advantage going into future engagements.  Alenko hadn’t argued with her.

They were at a stall recommended by Garrus -- _Just tell him I sent you.  You’ll get the good stuff_ \-- and examining a potential upgrade for Alenko’s omnitool when Liara found them.  “I think she’s still with the Council,” Ashley replied, glancing over at Alenko.  He just nodded, his focus still on the mod.  “What’s up?”  Turning her back to the counter, she leaned against it, most of her weight propped by her elbows.  

Compared to the few other asari Ashley had met over the years, Liara was much more … jittery.  At the moment, she was wringing her hands together and she looked almost nervous enough to cry.  “You okay?” she asked.

“I -- Yes, I’m fine,” Liara replied.  Her eyes dropped, and as if noticing her hands just then, they stopped moving.  “The Commander -- well, we shared … information again.  Like before?”

Ashley nodded.  Word had gotten around the ship about that.  If she were truthful, she was concerned about having someone else poking around inside her brain and memories like that, but she supposed it was the equivalent of sharing a network drive on a computer or something.  Probably why she wasn’t a tech-head like the commanders or Alenko.  

“I’ve figured out where Saren is headed,” Liara continued in a near whisper.

Alenko stiffened, the slightest of movements catching in Ashley’s peripheral vision.  “Oh?”  She stood up straight and took a step closer, lowering her voice.  “Where?”

Alenko passed a credit chit over to the volus and took the mod in hand, joining them.  With subtle movements, he guided them away from the stall and out of the heavily trafficked paths until they had some quiet.  “Go ahead,” he told Liara.

She looked between them.  “Ilos.  The Conduit is on Ilos,” she whispered.

Ashley frowned.  “Where the hell is that?  I’ve never heard of it.”  She looked over at Alenko, but he shook his head.

Liara’s lips curved into a smile that was much more confident.  “I have.  There isn’t much known about it in detail, and no one has ever been able to get there to study it, but I’ve seen references to it at other prothean dig sites indicating it was once one of the central gems of the prothen age.  The problem has always been that no one knows how to get there.”

Ashley opened her mouth to point out that they didn’t either, but Alenko shook his head at her.  “You read the information that new beacon gave the Commander?” he asked.  Liara nodded.  “I’m guessing the location of Ilos was in it?”

Again, Liara nodded.  “The Mu-relay.  My mother passed the coordinates for the relay along before she died.”  She sighed softly and shook her head.  “The beacon was a distress signal sent out by the protheans across their empire, but they were too late.  It warns of the Reapers invading --”

“Sovereign!” Ashley breathed.  “There’s more of those things where he came from?”

Liara shrugged.  “That’s what it sounded like.  Given the history of the protheans -- or at least what little we know -- I can only imagine it must have taken an army of those things to destroy them so completely.”

They stood in silence for a few minutes digesting that, ignoring everything and everyone else around them.

“So … we take the Mu-relay to Ilos?” Ashley said.

“Yes.  It’s the only way to get there -- and why Saren needed the coordinates,” she replied.  “I saw other places and locations that were familiar from my research, but I was able to identify Ilos as the location of the Conduit.”

“But we still don’t know what the Conduit is?” Alenko asked.

“No.”  

“Have you tried messaging the Commander?” Ashley suggested.  “She needs to know about this ASAP.”

Liara nodded.  “I did, but I’ve had no response from her.  I sent it twice, just to be sure she received it, but nothing.”  She pulled her lip between her teeth and worked it for a moment.  “There’s another problem, and it could be why I’ve heard nothing back.”

Ashley rolled her eyes.  “Figures.  Alright, let’s have it.”

“The Mu-relay is in the Terminus Systems,” Liara explained.  “We are going to need reinforcements from the Citadel Fleet to take on Saren, but they are very …”

“Reluctant?” Alenko suggested when she sought the right word.

Liara nodded.  “That’s as good as any,” she agreed.  “They are reluctant to have anything to do with the Terminus Systems.”

Ashley scowled.  “Yeah,” she growled, “Alliance isn’t welcome there either.  Mindoir was the perfect example of that.”

“Hey,” Alenko murmured, “there’s Garrus and Tali.  Let’s go pull them into this.  Maybe they’ve seen the commander.”

 

~ n ~

 

John stood just inside the doorway to their cabin, arms folded across his chest as he watched his wife take her anger and irritation out on one of the chairs.  He wasn’t surprised in the least to see it go flying halfway across the room and crash into the wall as she released a deep throated growling roar.  Sighing, he murmured, “Nice Throw, but I doubt that’s its intended use.”

“Dammit, John!”  Spinning on her heel, she glowered at him.  “The Council has all but told me I’m being manipulated by Saren!  That I’m a _tool_ of his!  How the hell am I supposed to convince them that what we’re facing here is much more dangerous than that?”  Snorting in disgust, she threw a punch at the wall with her fist, wincing as it made contact.  “I should just let them pay for their ignorance with their lives!”

Crossing the room, John reached for her hand and bent over to examine it.  “You won’t, and you know it,” he told her.  “And breaking your hand is hardly the way to go about trying to convince them otherwise.”

Jane pulled her hand back from him, shaking it loosely.  There was some pain, but it was manageable.  “It isn’t broken,” she insisted.  “And that still doesn’t change the fact that --”

“No, it doesn’t,” John agreed, “but at the moment there’s nothing we can do about it.  We’re locked down.  I’ll admit, I’m not impressed with Udina or the Council at the moment.”  

“Fucking arrogant bastard!”  

A light blue glow began to surround her hand again, a sure sign her anger was well on its way to uncontrollable levels, and John carefully took it in his again.  “I sent a quick message to Anderson,” he told her, “while you were dealing with Udina and the Council.  If anyone can come up with an idea on what to do next, he can.”

“That doesn’t help us figure out where to go from here!” she insisted.  “We’re just sitting ducks lying in wait!  Saren’s out there --” she waved her other hand vaguely indicating space beyond their current location, “-- on his way to wherever the Conduit is!  He’ll get it and bring it back here to use against the Citadel and everyone else!”

John offered a smile with just the slightest hint of teasing.  “Well, at least you’re back to deciding that the galaxy needs to be saved.”

Jane snorted, but the aura around her hand faded.  She closed her fingers around his, squeezing.  “Damn the Council,” she muttered, “but I won’t have the fates of trillions of innocents on my conscience because they’re too narrow-sighted to see the truth!”

“There’s my girl,” he murmured.  He lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed the abused knuckles.  She didn’t wince in pain this time.  That was an improvement.  “Alright, so we’re locked down.  We can still research the hell out of that place -- where was it, Liara said?”

Sighing, Jane nodded.  Pulling away from him, she moved over to the computer console and dropped into the seat.  “Ilos, she said.  “We need to use the Mu-relay to get there.”

John followed, leaning over her shoulder as she pulled up the sparse information the ship’s data banks had on it.  “No wonder the Council doesn’t want to get involved,” he mused.  His eyes dropped down to her.  “You okay going back to the Terminus?”

She shrugged.  “John, I got over the worst of Mindoir when I was young,” she reminded him patiently.

He snorted.  “Yeah, that’s why you ended up in London on the wrong side of things.”

She darted a quick glare up at him.  “Everyone’s allowed to make bad choices once in awhile,” she said.  “I learned from mine before it was too late.”

“Point.”  Rising, he stretched his back and arms.  “Alright, let’s assume we can get out of here without being caught,” he said.  “What then?”

Sighing, Jane shook her head.  She closed her eyes and attempted to visualize things.  “The _Normandy_ ’s stealth mode should keep us from being detected by the Citadel fleet or Saren, that’s a plus,” she murmured.  

“So we should be able to get there without too much trouble.”

“Unless they put up a blockade,” Jane returned.  Opening her eyes again, she grinned.  “Which we both know is unlikely since the whole reason they don’t want us to go is because they don’t want to be in the Terminus in the first place.”

“Right.”  John dropped onto the bed and propped a pillow behind him.  “So we should be able to get through the relay easily enough.”

“Assuming we aren’t blown out of the sky before leaving Citadel space, yes,” Jane agreed.  She swiveled her chair around so she could look at him.  “Beyond that, we might have to rely on Liara.  I haven’t seen anything about that area before, and I got the impression what information there is out there is very limited.”

He frowned.  “Limited I can work with,” he finally replied, “but I’m more concerned about what we’ll find once we get there.  After Virmire, Saren -- and by association, Sovereign -- is going to know we’re coming after him.”

Jane shook her head.  “I’m not so sure.  He’s a Spectre, right?  He’s got to know we’ll get stonewalled by the Council.”

“That never seemed to stop him at all,” John observed.  A soft beep at his wrist had him glancing down.  “Ah.  Anderson.”

Jane lifted a brow and waited.

“He wants us to meet him at _Flux_ to talk.”

The first real smile since her confrontation with the Council and Udina curved at Jane’s lips.  “If he wants to talk, he’s got a plan,” she said.  Jumping to her feet, she reached her good hand out to him.  “Let’s go.”

John allowed her to pull him to his feet, chuckling the whole way.  “Talk about your mood swings!”  Out of habit, he dodged the arm she automatically threw an arm in his direction while they headed out the door.

 

~ n ~

 

“You ready to get the hell off this station, Commander?” Anderson asked as Jane and John dropped into chairs on either side of him.

“Hell, yeah!” Jane told him, leaning towards him while clasping her hands together in front of her on the table.  

John chuckled and shook his head.  He met Anderson’s knowing look with a grin.  “What do you have in mind, sir?” he asked.

“I’ll take care of the lockdown,” Anderson told them.  “You get back to the _Normandy_ and tell Joker to stand by.”

“You do realize that if you help us steal the _Normandy_ , you’ll be left holding the bag, sir,” Jane pointed out.

“And if Saren finds the Conduit, life as we know it will be over.  The Reapers will destroy us!”

In that moment, it fully hit Jane just how much Anderson was willing to risk.  He believed her.   _Truly_ believed her.  Unlike the Council and Udina, he wasn’t thinking she’d lost her mind or was being used by Saren.   _Then again, he_ knows _Saren._  

“Jane, you’re the only one who can stop him,” he insisted.  “I don’t care what the rest think, you’ve proven that to me with every decision you’ve made since becoming Spectre.  Damn right I’ll do whatever it takes to get you, your team, and the _Normandy_ off this station!”

John leaned in, lowering his voice.  “What’s the plan?”

Anderson nodded.  “I can hack into the _Normandy_ from one of the consoles in the Citadel control center.  That’ll give you a few minutes before anyone figures out what’s happened to get you out of Citadel controlled space.”

“But that’s restricted space under heavy guard!” John protested.

“I’ll handle that,” Anderson assured him.  “You just make sure you’re ready when the _Normandy_ ’s systems come back online.”

“It’s too much of a risk, sir,” Jane told him, her eyes drifting to John’s.  Her husband nodded.  Sometimes it was easier for her to get through to Anderson.  

Sighing, Anderson sat back.  “Udina issued the lockdown order.  The only other option is to hack into his computer in the embassy and override it from there.”

Jane snorted.  “He’s not just going to let you into his office to do that, and you know it,” she said.  “In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t have guards in place to prevent you from visiting.”

“Hopefully, he won’t be there.  If he is, I’ll just have to think of something,” Anderson replied.

Jane pushed herself to her feet with reluctance.  John followed suit, turning towards the door, his hands already typing away on his omnitool as he left.  “Six and one half dozen of the other, sir,” she murmured.  He rose to his feet, and both stared at the other for a long minute.  “I can’t make this call,” she told him, eyes dropping from his.

Anderson chuckled softly, his hand rising to grasp her shoulder.  “I know,” he replied gently.

“If you try to hack Udina’s console and get caught, it’s treason and that’s a capital offense.  If you try the other, the guards could kill you on the spot.”  Eyes lifting, she frowned.  “Why the hell are you forcing me to make this call, anyway?  You’re N7 too!”

Anderson broke into a deep belly laugh.  “I was wondering if you’d remember that,” he told her.  Gesturing towards the exit, he fell into step beside her.  “I’ll take care of it.  You just be ready to take advantage.”

Jane nodded.  She didn’t bother to salute -- surrounded by so many civilians, it might look out of place and she didn’t want to draw undue attention towards them.  “We will, sir.”  She glanced at her omnitool.  “Give us an hour to get everyone back aboard?”

“I assume that’s why John already left?”

Jane nodded.  “They were warned ahead of time to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.”

“Good.”  Clapping her shoulder as they descended the stairs, Anderson turned towards the skycab stand.  “I’ll leave you to it then, Commander.  Good luck.”

“Good luck to us all, sir,” she replied.

She didn’t run into her husband again until exiting decontamination protocols at the ship.  He stood just outside the door to the bridge as if waiting for her.  “How many are we waiting on?” she asked.

“Two,” he replied, “and they’re right behind you.  It appears Liara told Alenko and Williams what was going on and word got around.  Most of them were back by the time I got here.”  

Nodding, Jane moved into the bridge to stand behind  Joker.  “Good to go?” she asked the pilot.

He nodded and pointed to a red light on the upper right quadrant of his board.  “Just waiting for the green light, Commander.”  He darted a quick look over his shoulder.  “Literally.”

Smiling, Jane nodded.  Turning to her husband, she murmured, “I’ll leave the trickiness of getting us out of here safely to you.  I’m going to go brief the others.”

“I’ll catch up with you in a bit,” he promised.

 


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience with me on this story. Camp Nano ended up being a bust for most of my stories I planned to work on because, sadly, my mother lost her battle with cancer in the first week of the month. Obviously, my focus was elsewhere the remainder of the time as you can imagine. I am fortunate enough the muses are still lurking and poking, but I have no control over which stories are taking precedence. ShepShep is there, and I still have a few chapters that may be about ready to go, but I’m not going to force it. I promise, though, I will get back to them as soon as I can stir the muses into action!  
> In the meantime, here is a chapter that I had ready just before everything fell apart during the month. I hope you enjoy it.

 

Finding moments to spend together at the best of times was difficult, especially since both John and Jane were often sent out on separate assignments.  Finding it in a world gone mad was even more of a challenge.  

Which was why, when opportunity presented itself, John grabbed tight hold and savored it.  It didn’t matter they were aboard the _Normandy_ , running from the Council and Udina.  It didn’t matter that certain death and destruction lay right around the corner, waiting to pounce and destroy all that they held close and dear.  It didn’t even matter that they were more than willing to face it head on, give it everything they had, including their very lives if necessary, in order to stop that threat once and for all.

All that mattered right now for John was that his wife lay curled into his side and he was able to tighten his arm and pulled her close.  He relished the solid strength of her next to him, and he tucked the memory away for future times when fortune wouldn’t be on their side and they couldn’t be together.  He wouldn’t necessarily describe it as a desperation to be with her just then, but with the way events were playing out -- their escape, the unknown forces of Saren that might be waiting for them when they arrived at Ilos, etc. -- it was clear that things were speeding towards a conclusion of some sort and John wasn’t about to take anything for granted.  Especially not when so much was at stake and the results of this mission had the potential to make Elysium look like a schoolyard brawl by comparison.

“Do you remember that dream we had when we were on our honeymoon?”

Her voice was an octave lower than usual and rough with sleep when she spoke.  Startled by her question and how close it came to mimicking his own thoughts, it took John a moment to respond.  “Which?” he countered, buying some time.  “The one where we got off Elysium alive and lived to fight another day?”

Jane’s inelegant snort was echoed with amusement.  “No.  The one about having a family where I get to tell our sons how to _really_ take down the bad guys while their dad is bouncing their red-headed, pig-tailed sisters on his old aching knees and explaining how their mother was such a badass soldier.”

It was a rare day anymore that Jane could ever catch him off guard to the point of reacting without thinking, but he bolted upwards and turned to face her now.  Ignoring a more glib response, his mouth worked a time or two until he finally managed, “You … you’re not saying you’re pregnant, are you?”

Jane rolled her eyes, but John caught a brief glimpse of sadness that flicked in their depths at the same time.  Since their marriage they’d tried a few times for children -- they honestly wanted a family together, had discussed it in depth both before and since their marriage -- but nothing had ever come of it.  Whether it be timing or some other challenge, it simply hadn’t happened.  

“No,” she stated matter of factly.  “What I’m saying is, after all of this -- chasing Saren, fighting the geth, figuring out what the Conduit is and how to stop the Reapers from returning -- once we’re through all that …  I was thinking, maybe we might want to try again.”  Jane sat up beside him, leaning against his shoulder and resting her cheek there before adding, “After all we’ve been through, don’t you think ….”

Gently, John pulled her onto his lap.  Their delay in having a family was never been about or because of their service.  Both children of active military personnel themselves, they knew how to go about it and the risks involved.  They were more than willing to make whatever sacrifices would be necessary.  

When he didn’t respond immediately, Jane tilted her head to look up at him.  “Am I being selfish?” she asked more quietly.  “With threats like the Reapers and Saren out there, I know the time isn’t ideal, but …”

Sighing, John rested his chin carefully atop her head.  “You aren’t being selfish,” he assured her immediately.  “And even if you were, I’m right there with you, so we both are.”  He sighed heavily.  “We’ve talked about this before, remember?  You know how I feel about it.  We could wait for the ‘perfect time’ our whole lives and never find it.”

“I know,” she replied, “but after all we’ve been through chasing down Saren --”

“We’ll finish this mission and see where things stand then,” he promised.

“And if we don’t succeed?”

He turned, framing her face between his hands and staring deeply into her eyes.  He wondered silently if she understood just how frightening those words were to him on a personal level.  It wasn’t so much the fear of _not_ succeeding, but what it would mean if they _didn’t_.  “We will.  What’s that old saying?   _Failure is not an option_.  Not now and not later.  We will make this happen, Jane.  Promise.”  He managed a lopsided smile for her.  “Have I ever let you down before?”  

 

~ n ~

 

A short while later and mug in hand, Jane exited the galley.  With no specific destination in mind, when she found Alenko sitting at one of the mess tables nearby she decided to join him.  Dropping into the seat beside him, she caught sight of the photo he was staring at on his omnitool.  “Pretty girl,” she said quietly.  “Someone special back home?”

He didn’t act surprised -- either by her question or by her arrival -- and shrugged casually.  “Someone I knew once,” he clarified.  “It was a long time ago, though.  Things … didn’t work out.”

Jane paused, staring at him for a long moment over the rim of her cup as she sipped.  There was a sadness there, it was easy enough to recognize.  “I’m sorry, LT,” she told him.  

He shrugged again.  “As I said, it’s in the past.”  He closed the screen to his omnitool and turned to face her while finding a smile.  “So.  Ilos.”

Jane accepted the change in topic and nodded.  “I’m not quite sure what to expect when we get there,” she said.  “Geth, no doubt.  A krogan army, pretty much guaranteed.  Saren.  Sovereign, too.  Hell, knowing my luck of late, the Council fleet will ignore that it’s in the Terminus and show up just to have me arrested.”  She sighed and set her mug down on the table in front of her.  “Man, if this mission could have gotten anymore fucked up than it has, I don’t see how,” she muttered.

Alenko chuckled.  “Well, I don’t know about the Council,” he told her, “and though it might anger Alliance Command, all I can tell you is that we -- the crew of the _Normandy_ , that is -- are behind you one hundred percent, Commander.  We’ve got your back.”

Jane blinked.  The thought of doubting her crew had never crossed her mind -- until the moment he mentioned that there was no reason to.  “Really?”  The question slipped unbidden past her lips.

He nodded.  “Yes, ma’am.  We’ve seen things the Council hasn’t.  We’ve been out there witnessing the chaos Saren and the geth are stirring up.  And, while this may not be the best way to go about it, I don’t see that the Council left us much choice in the matter.”

The corner of Jane’s lip twitched.  It wasn’t quite censure, but he let her know where he stood on things without jeopardizing the mission or his role in it at all.   _Clever man._  “John always said you play by the book.”

“I do,” he replied evenly.  “The rules are there for a reason, right?  Still, the way I figure it, with everything we’ve witnessed so far and the Council not willing to do anything to stop Saren before it’s too late, someone needs to do something.  We just happen to be the someone available.”

Sighing, Jane sat back and rested her head against the wall behind her.  Her eyes closed for a long minute before she opened them again.  “Thanks, LT,” she told him before rising to her feet.  “That … helps a lot.”  And it did.  The crew needed morale boosts, but so did she.  And this time it’d come from an unexpected source.

“Anytime, ma’am,” Alenko told her.  

Departing the mess hall and descending to the shuttle bay, Jane spotted Garrus and Williams over at the Chief’s desk working on mods, with occasional, as well as shouted, input from Wrex.  Their interaction left her smiling.  Despite a curiosity on her part, she was unwilling to disturb their discussion.  Still, she moved within hearing distance and leaned against the Mako her eyes attuned to scene before her.  

It wasn’t long before she was noticed.  “Hey, Commander!” Williams called over.  “Don’t be a stranger.”

“I didn’t want to interrupt you,” Jane said, but she walked over to join them.  “What’s going on?”

“Wrex is just giving us some tips on how to best counter Saren’s krogan army,” Williams said.  

“I noticed a few things on Virmire,” Wrex rumbled.  “Weaknesses we can exploit.”

“Between those and Garrus’ insight on the geth,” the Chief continued, “we’ll be as ready as we possibly can when we get to Ilos.”

Jane looked at each of them.  “Where’s Tali?  I’d think she would have some unique insights on the geth.”

“She does,” Garrus agreed.  “She is currently trying to contact the Migrant Fleet to double check some of our data against theirs.  She should be back soon.”

Nodding, Jane continued.  “So, it’s just that easy?  Seems kind of anticlimactic the way you put it.”

Wrex chuckled but bobbed his head.  “You were right, Shepard.  Saren’s krogan -- something’s not right with them.  Whatever his ‘cure’ is, it isn’t what my people need.”

Jane bit back a smile and dropped her eyes.  It was, in all likelihood, the closest to an apology she’d get from him, but she’d take it.  “And you figured out how to exploit it?” she asked instead.

He nodded again.  “What’s your old Earth saying?  ‘It takes one to know one?’”

Jane couldn’t stop a snort of laughter from escaping or the twinkle in her eyes that his words brought.  “You know, Wrex, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you fit right in with us.”

Williams rolled her eyes.  “Don’t give him too many ideas,” she muttered.

Wrex’s chuckle deepened and Jane swore she could feel it vibrate through the floor beneath her feet.  

“You have to admit,” Garrus interjected, “he has a point.  Redundant nervous systems make them incredibly difficult to kill.”

“Unless you know a few tricks,” Wrex finished.  “And have a few specialized mods.”

Jane blinked.  She glanced between him and Garrus for a moment.  “This has something to do with that visit to your volus friend, doesn’t it?” she asked the turian.

Garrus shifted slightly on his feet, reluctantly dropping his gaze to her.  “Do you really want to know?”

Jane considered that for a long minute, eventually sighing and shaking her head.  “Just so long as it doesn’t go past this mission, I don’t suppose so.”

“Commander,” Williams assured her, “all weapons go through me and my table.  If you say they’re gone after the mission, they’re gone.  End of story.  I’ll make sure of it.  But for now …”  Her lips curved upwards as she glanced at the krogan, the turian and then the commander.  “It gives all of us an edge we desperately need.”

Jane nodded, thinking back to her Spectre induction ceremony.   _To preserve galactic stability by any means necessary_.  “Works for me,” she told them by way of agreement.  Then to Williams, “Can you see that everyone’s weapons are adjusted accordingly?”

“That’s exactly what I’m working on, ma’am,” the Chief replied.  “Garrus and Wrex are just helping with the fine tuning.”

“Good.”

The sound of footsteps walking towards them had Jane turning to find Tali’Zorah returning.  She appeared focused on a visual display projected by her omnitool, so Jane said, “I’ll leave you all to it.”

The quarian’s head shot up and Tali sounded slightly surprised when she said, “Oh, Commander!”

Smiling, Jane shook her head.  “I was just leaving.  I understand you’ve all got things well under control.”

“What?  Oh.  Well …”  Her head swiveled towards the others who all nodded at her, and she concluded, “Well, yes.  I guess we do.”

Jane’s smile widened.  “That’s all I can ask for at this stage of the game.”

Returning to the lift, she headed back up to the crew deck.  Ducking inside the medbay, she found it empty.  A knock at the door to the back office, however, resulted in it opening.  Smiling at Liara, Jane entered the room.  “How are you doing?”

To her credit, Liara’s initial reaction was to smile.  She’d come a long way in a short time.  “I think I am as prepared as I can be, Commander,” she replied.  “I wish I had more information to tell you regarding Ilos, but the fact remains that little exists.”

“I know.”  Taking a seat in one of the chairs, she continued, “I wanted to thank you again for all the assistance you’ve provided.  I honestly don’t think we would have made it this far without your help.”

Liara’s cheeks darkened and she dropped into her usual seat in front of the computer.  “Well, I --”

Reaching out, Jane touched Liara’s arm.  “You are the only person aboard ship who has any in depth knowledge of the protheans.  You are the only one who can do that mind melding thing that allows you to see what I saw from the beacons and interpret them.  Those two things alone would have held us far back from Saren if we hadn’t had them available.”  Sighing, she shook her head.  “I won’t say we’re in the clear -- not yet.  We still have to find Saren and stop him and figure out what this Conduit is, but you’ve helped us keep up with him along the way, and that is the important thing.  He’s within our grasp, Liara.  Without you, that would most definitely not be the case!”

Liara, eyes intent upon her as Jane spoke, sighed after Jane finished.  “I -- I can see your point, Commander,” she acknowledged.  “Thank you.  I wish I could do more.”

Rising to her feet, Jane gave her a considering look.  “You may be called on to do so,” she said somberly.  “We are in this fight to the end.  If anyone understands that as well as I do, it’s probably you.”

Nodding, Liara followed her.  “I understand, Commander.  I will be ready should you feel the need to call upon me.”

“Good.”  

Jane exited through the medbay and headed up to the CIC.  She noted immediately the heightened state of alertness from those on duty, but for all that things appeared to be quite smooth and efficient.  She checked in with Pressley who assured her they were right on schedule, the _Normandy_ ’s stealth system was fully engaged and working just fine, and the moment they entered the system the ship would be on full alert.  

Heading towards the bridge, Jane found Alenko in the co-pilot’s chair assisting Joker.  “How’re things up here?” she asked quietly.

“Looking good, Commander,” Joker assured her.  “Should be there in a few more hours.”

Through the windows, Jane watched the starlines streak past.  It never failed to amaze her to watch them.  “I fully expect Saren and his geth to be waiting for us when we arrive,” she told the pilot.

“Which means Sovereign, I know,” he finished.  “Don’t worry, Commander.  We’ve got this.   _I’ve_ got this.  I’ll get you in close and get back out before they even know we were there.”

Jane felt her lips twitch.  It wasn’t cockiness on his part, it was confidence.  And for that fact alone, she was thrilled he was their pilot.  Others were good -- including John and Alenko from what she’d seen -- but in the weeks since the _Normandy_ ’s mission began, Joker proved time and again he had just a little bit more than any other pilot with whom she’d ever worked.  It gave them an edge, and it was an edge they desperately needed now.  

“I think you mean _we_ will?”

Jane chuckled as John’s voice reverberated around them and he stepped up beside her.  Glancing down at Joker, she didn’t miss the way he rolled his eyes before replying, “Of course I do, Captain.”  

Grinning over at her husband, she murmured, “I think this is where I leave the playground.”

John snorted.  He and Joker had an understanding, though that didn’t prevent them from giving each other a hard time once in a while.  This just happened to be one of those times.  “Need me for anything?” he asked.

“Please say ‘yes,’” Joker muttered beneath his breath.  

Jane laughed softly and shook her head.  “Not at the moment.  Just going to check on a few more things before we arrive.  Let me know when we enter the Refuge System, will you, Joker?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Exiting the bridge, Jane walked slowly through the CIC and descended the stairs.  She returned to her cabin and took a seat at the computer console.  She had one more thing to do before they arrived, and she wanted the time to herself to do it.  Pulling up her email, she set up three separate messages for delivery to their designated recipients at a later time if she did not cancel it beforehand.  

 

~ n ~

 

_To: Admiral Steven Hackett, Fifth Fleet, Commanding_

_From: Lt. Commander Jane Shepard, Systems Alliance, N7, Spectre_

_Sir:_

_Should you receive this message, please accept it as my formal resignation of all rank and duties associated, as well as my agreement to surrender myself to Alliance Command for court martial proceedings.  Please note that Captain Anderson’s involvement was at my request, though he will argue otherwise, and I hope if anything this will mitigate any consequences he may have to face for his involvement.  Additionally, I hope the same considerations for all members of the Normandy’s crew will also be considered.  The decision to take such desperate measures to free my ship and leave the Citadel was mine and mine alone._

_Sincerely,_

_Jane Shepard, Lt. Cmdr, N7, Spectre_

_~ n ~_

 

_To: Captain David Anderson, Systems Alliance, N7_

_From: Lt. Commander Jane Shepard, Systems Alliance, N7, Spectre_

_Sir:_

_I’ve done everything I can.  If you get this message, it wasn’t enough.  I’m sorry.  God help us all._

_Jane_

_~ n ~_

 

_To: Hannah Shepard, Executive Officer SSV Kilimanjaro_

_From: From: Lt. Commander Jane Shepard, Systems Alliance, N7, Spectre_

_Mom:_

_If you receive this message, one of two things will have happened:  I’ll either be dead or imprisoned for court martial proceedings by Alliance Command._

_If I’m dead, you will know it and the galaxy is about to face complete and utter destruction by the Reapers.  Like John, I know you will do whatever duty commands, but I beg of you to do what you can to see that John does not dwell too long over what’s happened to me.  I’ve had to make some tough choices on this mission and though I know he will want to continue the fight, he may lose his way.  Please see that he doesn’t.  He and the crew of the Normandy are the only ones who will understand just what needs to be done to stop this threat._

_If I’m imprisoned and being brought up on charges, please do what you can to disassociate yourself from me.  The choices I made are mine alone and I would not see either your career, dad’s or John’s suffer for them.  (And yes, I know how stubborn you are -- John gets it from you! -- which is why I’m sending this to you and not dad!)._

_Whatever happens, know that I love you.  You and dad have done so much for me over the years and I want you never to forget that your acceptance of me into the family meant the world to me.  All three of you remind me on a daily basis just how important family is, and that it doesn’t just come from the same blood._

_Love and godspeed, Jane_

_~ n ~_

 

Closing off the computer, Jane stretched before returning to the bed in hopes of catching one last short nap before their arrival at Ilos.  She had a sneaking suspicion she was going to need it desperately before they reached the end of this.

 


	34. Chapter 34

Jane stood behind Joker’s seat, tuning out the heated words of argument around her.  Only one person’s viewpoint had her undivided attention just then as she stared through the window at the planet’s surface below.  Hand rising, she gently patted the pilot’s shoulder.  “Take us in, Joker,” she ordered steadily, then turned and walked off the bridge, effectively ending the discussion.  She was Spectre -- it was her call to make.  And more importantly, she trusted her pilot and his promises.

Striding through the CIC, she went through a mental checklist of all personnel on board.  She had to decide, and fast, who to take groundside with her.  They should take as many people as possible for the best possible chance against Saren.  That wily bastard hadn’t played fair from the beginning -- not that she’d expected it -- and she would find every single advantage she could now.  There was only one Mako, however.  They could still land with two teams, couldn’t they?  It would be a tight fit, but they’d done it before.  

Hustling down the stairs towards the crew deck, Jane tapped her comm line open.  “Alenko, Williams, Vakarian, you’re with me.  John, I want a second team groundside.  You, Liara, Tali and Wrex.  God knows what we’ll face down there, but I want every advantage we can get.  Everybody to the shuttle bay now!”

Jane was half armored when the others arrived, and as they geared up and collected their loadout, she explained the plan.  “We don’t know what we’re going to face down there, but we do know who.  We’re still behind the eight-ball on this one, so we need to grab any and every advantage, anywhere we can.  Keep your eyes open and be prepared for whatever may come.  Understood?”  The chorus of ‘Aye, Commander,’ that followed eased a little of the stress tightening in Jane’s gut.  At least for the moment.

By the time Joker announced they were just minutes from the drop zone, both teams were seated and strapped into the Mako.  “Ready when you are, Joker,” Jane replied.

“Good luck, Commander,” he returned even as the shuttle door opened to allow them to exit.

The landing was short, sweet, and brought them right up on the tail of Saren and his troops.  Jane maneuvered the vehicle to a sharp, jolting stop just before they would have hit the closing doors, cursing softly as the barricade effectively cut them off from their target.  

“Commander, we’re being jammed by geth technology,” Alenko warned as the others exited the vehicle.

“Right.”  Jane dropped out of the Mako and ran up to do a quick inspection of the doorway.  Alenko, Vakarian and Tali were all doing the same, but no switch or other means of opening it could be found.  Sighing softly in frustration -- nothing could ever be easy on this mission, could it? -- she ran a hand over her face and considered their options.  Her eyes trailed back to the direction behind where they’d come in from.  She could see outlines of buildings back there, too.  “Wherever the switch to open that thing is,” she said, “it isn’t here.  It has to be back that way.”

“Assuming the door wasn’t just standing wide open when Saren got here,” Williams muttered.

Liara and John were now both examining the sealed stone edifice.  Crouching at the base of the door, Liara poked at the ground.  “No, Saren opened it,” she interjected.  “There is no sign of disruption to the ground where it landed, and it is depressed several inches below indicating many years of weight sitting in this location.”

Turning towards his wife, John nodded.  “So, look for a doorbell?  Or, at least a key to get past the lock?”

Leave it to John to make her laugh at a time like this.  Jane managed a soft snort of amusement and appreciation, her eyes darting to meet his.  “Cute,” she told him, “but even though Saren knows we’re here, I’d rather not openly alert him just how close we are yet.”

Soft footsteps approached from behind and Jane glanced over to find Tali hurrying towards her.  “There is what looks to be an extensive network of buildings back that way,” she said pointing south.  “And geth.”  Her head swiveled as if she was looking over at Garrus who joined her.  “Lots and lots of geth.”

Reaching for her shotgun, Jane nodded at the others.  

“Looks like we just found our doorbell,” John murmured, walking over to join her.  

Rolling her eyes, Jane nodded to the right.  “You and your squad take that way.  We’ll go left.  Take down as many of those geth as you can.  Hopefully, we can find a way to disrupt their jamming frequencies in the process.”

“Working on that as we speak, Commander!” Tali offered, half turning from a conversation she was having with Alenko and Garrus.  All three had fingers typing frantically over the haptic keys of their omnitools.

John grinned down at his wife.  “Looks like we’re set.”

Jane met his eyes and nodded.  “Be careful,” she murmured softly, for his ears only.  Reaching out, she clasped a hand to his shoulder and more loudly to the rest of the group ordered, “Move out!”

They headed south along the narrow stretch of land on which they landed as a group, but when they neared a more open area, they encountered geth resistance.  At that point, Jane gave John the signal to split up.  

It was easy to lose track of time as they fought their way through.  By the troops encountered, it was obvious that Saren expected them to show up, Council intervention in their activity or no.  Everything from low level troops up to Armatures kept them busy.  Cannon fodder to rockets and everything in between.  Those minutes were as hectic and crazy as they were dangerous, only complicated by the fact that they also had to search for a way to get past the closed doorway where they’d landed.  Whatever Saren was after, that was the direction he’d taken and they would too.

“Commander, we’ve found access inside,” Williams announced.

Signalling Garrus to head over first, Jane kept her eyes on the surrounding area before turning to hustle and join them.  They’d been geth free for several minutes, though their communications were still clearly jammed.  Falling in beside her squad, she found a doorway opening to a small enclosure.  

“It’s an elevator, ma’am,” Alenko told her from his position to the left.  He gestured towards a small console panel.  

Frowning, Jane stepped inside.  Almost immediately, the door shut and the unit began moving.  

“Power drawing from somewhere,” Garrus observed.

Jane nodded.  “At least that bodes well for the rest of the place working, I suppose.”  

They slowed a couple of minutes later as Jane was taking a quick survey of her shotgun.  “Be ready,” she murmured, the doors opening to let them exit.  “If we found this place, no doubt Saren and the geth did too.  He’s no doubt left defenses behind.”  

They stepped out into a long hall that ran from the elevator to the central chamber.  Squinting at the dimly lit room ahead, Jane thought she could see movement.  “Williams, Garrus -- find a way to get up top if you can,” she ordered.  “Alenko, take the right.  I’ve got left.”

The attack began as soon as they stepped into the central chamber.  As she expected, geth waited inside the enclosed space.  The lighting was poor, but it was easy enough to see the enemy.  Adding biotics into the battle strategy helped, too, especially when she or Alenko were lucky enough to get one of the geth troopers lifted up off the ground and floating for a time.  If Jane heard Williams’ shout correctly, it was some sort of comparison to a skeet shoot.

“Cleared, Commander.”  Garrus’ voice rang throughout the chamber a short while later and Jane moved cautiously out into the open.

“Looks like there’s a doorway up ahead,” Williams announced when she joined them below.  “I thought I saw windows up above, too.”

“That would make sense,” Alenko mused.  “Some sort of control center, perhaps?  If so, good chance we’ll find the mechanism for that door Saren went through.”

Leading the way, Jane approached first.  “This looks like it goes straight back,” she observed.

Garrus, searching off to their right, called out, “Over here.  There’s a ramp that goes straight up.”

Weapon at the ready, Jane led the way up the incline.  At the top, she paused, finding an open archway into a small chamber with windows.  Several devices of unknown make stood around the room, but only one appeared to have been utilized recently, a green light at the top corner flashing its readiness.  Frowning, she lowered her weapon and stepped over to examine the device.  When the others joined her, she gestured for Alenko and Garrus to take a look.  Turning to Williams, she said, “Chief, why don’t you see if you can’t find --”

The static scratching of broken and disrupted transmissions cut through the air and Jane looked over to find Garrus jumping back from the console.  Instinct had her raising her shotgun and taking aim, as did Williams, but after a moment it became clear that it was only a holographic image.  

_… too late … unable to … invading fleets … no escape …_

“Sounds like some sort of message,” Garrus commented, “but I don’t recognize the language.”

“Ilos was a prothean colony,” Alenko replied.  “It’s probably in their --”

“Wait,” Jane said, her hand rising to silence them.  Focusing her concentration as the communication began to repeat, she said quietly, “It’s pretty broken up, but I can understand some of it.  It’s … a warning … about the Reaper invasion.”

Williams looked over at Alenko who shrugged, then at Garrus who did the same.  “Uh, Commander?”

Eyes opening, Jane turned towards the Chief.  “I’ve got that prothean Cipher in my head, remember?” she said.  Williams nodded, though it was clear by the look on her face she didn’t fully get it.  “Never mind.  Point is, I’m understanding some of what they’re saying -- even though it’s pretty garbled.”

_… ot safe … seek refuge … side the archives … alled Reapers … the Citadel … overwhelmed … only hope …_

Jane relayed what she was hearing.  “Thoughts?”

“Seriously?” Williams muttered in a dry tone, half turning away.  “‘ _Help me, Obi-wan Kenobi, you’re our only hope_ ’?”

Jane blinked and watched both Alenko and Garrus do the same before the words penetrated.  Snorting softly, she couldn’t hold back a chuckle.  “Okay, Chief, no matter what happens next, you get promoted one level just for that movie reference!”

_… act of desperation … the Conduit … all is lost … cannot be stopped … cannot be stopped …_

Sighing, Jane shook her head.  “I caught something about the Conduit, but it’s too degraded to understand anything else.  We should get moving.”

Exiting the room, the foursome descended back to the main level and turned down the hall they hadn’t explored.  At the very end, they found another elevator and boarded.  After several minutes, this one opened to let them off near their initial landing point.

Ushering out the others, Jane glanced down at her omnitool and saw that the jamming was gone.  At least for the moment.  Pressing on her comm, she called out, “John, can you hear me?”  

The connection was rough with static, but a moment later his voice came back.  “ _I’m here.  We’re on the lower levels of the ruins._ ”

Returning to the Mako, Jane saw the door that had been blocking their way had opened.  “Door’s open.  Meet us back here ASAP.  We’re on the right track, John.  We found a hologram that mentioned the Conduit and a Reaper invasion.  My guess is the Conduit’s inside that building.”

“ _Roger that.  En route._ ”

“Load up,” Jane told the others.  “We’ll leave as soon as they get here.”

Jane was settling into the driver’s seat as the rest buckled up when the Mako suddenly shook violently.  “What the hell?”

“We’re hit,” Alenko called over calmly, his eyes focused on the Mako’s systems displays.  “Shields down to sixty percent.  Whatever that was, it packs one hell of a punch!”

“Shit!”  Pressing the comm again, Jane said, “John?  We’re under attack!  It just knocked us down forty percent in one shot!”

The Mako shook again with another hit, and in the background an alarm started screeching its warning.  “Twenty percent,” Alenko warned, reaching over to silence the warning.  “We need to get out of here now, Commander!”

Not waiting for a response from her husband, Jane kicked the Mako into gear and guided the only direction available: inside the building.  A third shot missed, hitting the upper part of the archive door instead.  The impact shook the barrier loose, and it fell with sudden speed and force, barely missing the back end of the vehicle as Jane hit the brakes and pulled to a stop.  Releasing her restraints, she turned to Alenko and ordered, “Get those shields back up!”  Looking back at Williams and Garrus, she added, “You two with me.  Let’s see if we can’t get that door raised again.”

Outside the vehicle, they searched for a control panel in the immediate area, but nothing could be found.

“ _Jane?  Where are you?_ ”

Sighing, she pressed the comm.  “Inside the archives,” she said.  “We had to take cover -- one more hit would have done us in.  Whatever it was --”

“ _Colossus_ ,” John told her.  “ _We’ve just about got it down now._ ”

“John, the door’s a goner,” she announced a moment later.  “Whatever controls Saren used to shut it the hit must’ve damaged.  We can’t find any way to raise it from this side.”

Williams climbed back into the Mako followed by Garrus, but Jane remained outside a moment longer to finish her conversation.  An audible sigh at the other end was the only sign of her husband’s level of frustration with the turn of events.  “ _Alright, you keep going.  We’ll see if we can’t find another way in.  Whatever happens, just be careful._ ”

“Understood.”  Jane scrambled back inside the vehicle and strapped in.  “Shields?”

“At sixty-eight percent,” Alenko assured her, “and rising.”

“Williams, you take the gun.  Shoot at anything that moves -- I want time for this baby to heal up.  God knows we’re probably going to need it before we get out of here.”

 

~ n ~

 

“Any luck?”  John looked over Tali’s shoulder as she huddled near the closed door.  

“No, Commander,” she replied.  “Nothing.  I’m sorry.”

Muttering to himself, John started pacing back and forth outside the doorway.  If they stayed here, they would be sitting ducks, ripe for the picking should Saren decide to send any more troops down to the surface.  And if he didn’t, they still wouldn’t be doing much good to help Jane and the others.

The approach of footsteps shook John from his thoughts and he turned to find Wrex lumbering through some of the native flora on his return, Liara a few steps behind him.  “Find any other way in?” John asked.

“Negative, Commander,” Wrex rumbled.  “This thing’s sealed tighter than a thresher maw’s spore.”

John blinked in confusion for a moment, then decided it could wait.  Clearly, the comparison meant something to Wrex.  What he _could_ take from it was that there was no other way inside.  “Liara?”

“I found nothing as well,” she admitted.

“Shit.”  Sighing again, John ran a hand over his face.  Only one choice made any sense at this time, and his gut was screaming it had to be made.  He just didn’t like the consequences if he was wrong.  Reaching up to trigger his comm, he said, “Joker, do you copy?”

“ _Right here, Commander,_ ” the pilot returned.  “ _What do you need?_ ”

“How’s the situation up there?”  John tilted his head skyward, peering up through the dense foliage, but nothing was obvious that he could see.  “Do you think you can break away for a pickup without being noticed?”

There was a pause, but Joker returned, “ _Yeah, I think we can do it.  A quick scoop up of the Mako and --_ ”

“Not the Mako,” John broke in.  “Our teams got separated.  Jane and her squad have the Mako, I’m on foot with Liara, Wrex and Tali.”

Another pause.  “ _Can you head about two klicks east?  It was a hell of a tight space to drop you -- I’ll need more to bring the_ Normandy _in to pick you up._ ”

“Can you tell if there’s any geth in the vicinity?” John asked.

A different voice broke across the line this time.  “ _Commander, as far as we can tell there are no more geth in your immediate vicinity.  I’ve sent the coordinates for the pickup to your omnitool, sir.  We’ll meet you there._ ”

“Thanks, Pressly.”  John disconnected the comm and turned to the others.  “We’ve got a bit of a hike, but looks like we’re done for the day.  Let’s go.”

“I don’t like this,” Wrex muttered as they started off.  “Doesn’t sit right, if you know what I mean.”

John sighed and nodded.  “I’m with you there, Wrex,” he replied.  “But maybe we can help Jane and the others out by giving them additional eyes from above.”  He looked over at Liara and Tali who nodded.  “And it’s a hell of a lot better than being geth bait.”  As they continued on, John pressed the comm in an attempt to reach his wife…

 


	35. Chapter 35

The elevator ride back up from speaking with Vigil was an unusually quiet one.  Only once they exited the shaft and were heading back to the Mako did the silence finally break.

Pausing outside the vehicle, Jane pressed her comm.  “John, are you there?”

“ _Right here, Jane_ ,” he returned immediately.  “ _What do you need from us?_ ”

Having him aboard ship already was probably the best thing to happen so far on a mission as messed up as this one had become.  Though she wanted to take the time to explain the conversation she’d just had and the mandate the prothean VI clearly wanted her to fulfill, she knew there was no time.  “Short version: The Citadel is a backdoor for the Reapers.  You’ve got to take the _Normandy_ and get back there -- Saren’s already on his way!”

“ _Wait -- Jane, how --?_ ”

Joker’s voice broke across the line.  “ _Commander, its Sovereign -- look at it!  That’s like that move I told you about on Virmire!_ ”  Habit had Jane glancing upwards even though she couldn’t see anything but the walls of the building.

There was a moment of silence from the other end before John returned.  “ _Jane, what’s going on?_ ”

Taking a deep breath, she instructed, “Follow Sovereign, John!  It’s heading to the Citadel!  The Citadel is a doorway for other Reapers to enter the galaxy from dark space where they’re waiting!”

There was a scratch of static before John’s voice asked, “ _How are WE going to stop it?_ ”

Jane bit her lower lip.  The others were inside the Mako now and she needed to join them.  “Contact Hackett -- Anderson -- Alliance Command -- Udina -- the Citadel Fleet!  Get a hold of whoever you can – _anyone_ \-- just get them!  This thing is bigger than us.  We’re going to need all the help we can get!”

She started climbing into the Mako and was taking her seat when he replied, “ _But what about you?  We can’t just leave you here --!_ ”

She glanced over at Alenko who was in his usual navigation seat and nodded that all was good to go.  Shifting the Mako into gear, she said, “There’s an access point here.  We’re taking that.  We’ll meet you there, front and center on the Presidium, got that?  Don’t be late or you’re buying the drinks afterwards.”  She tried to interject a little bit of humor into her tone, but she wasn’t sure it communicated in the moment.

“ _Jane …_ ”

Biting her lower lip, her voice dropped nearly an octave as she pleaded with him.  “John, _GO_!  Please, don’t make me pull rank on you -- you know I wouldn’t tell you this if I didn’t believe it.”

Another long pause, and she could almost _see_ his face in front of her as he debated.  She was about to call out to him again, to yell at him with all it took, to pull rank and then some, when he finally spoke.  “ _Fair winds, baby._ ”

Startled at the reference dating back to the early years of their marriage, Jane nearly choked on a sob.  “And following seas, love,” she whispered back.  Thankfully, none of the rest of her squad made comment and the drive continued in silence.

 

~ n ~

 

“I’ve got something,” Alenko announced as the Mako continued on through the archives.  He ignored the view out the windows -- the sight of so many darkened or destroyed life pods was unnerving at a subconscious level he couldn’t even begin to describe -- and focused his attention on the navigational equipment.  “Over the next rise.”  

Williams steadied herself, hands on the Mako’s mass accelerator cannon controls.  Eyes narrowing, she stared through the aiming mechanism as the commander drove.  “Let me at ‘em,” she muttered.

“How much further to the drop off?” Jane asked.  She brought the Mako over the next rise, dodging several rockets aimed straight at them.  “Chief!”

“Got it, Commander!”  The vehicle shook violently with the cannon shot followed by sporadic bursts from the machine gun.  In moments, the path was once again clear.

“At the end of this straightaway, Commander,” Alenko informed her.  “There’ll be a sharp left.”

Jane slowed as they neared, spying the area up ahead.  “Fasten your seatbelts, folks,” she muttered as she moved the Mako into position.  “We’re in for a doozy of a ride!”

The steep drop off was more than enough reason to belt up -- even strapped in, Jane still managed to whack her head against the side of the vehicle as they landed below.  Behind her, she heard a sharp grunt from Garrus as well as a hiss of pain from Williams.  Alenko, she noticed, said nothing, but he braced his hands hard against the dash if the whiteness of his knuckles meant anything.  

Once settled, Jane cautiously started the vehicle forward.  The Mako responded as before with no indication of any damage.  When they reached the next straightaway, she increased the speed.  They were running out of time to catch up to Saren and stop him and couldn’t afford to lose any seconds.

“Sharp right ahead,” Alenko informed them, breaking the silence.  “Chief, multiple targets.”

“Ready,” Williams replied.

Jane slowed as she reached the bend and turned.  The first casualties were a couple of geth troopers who were in immediate proximity.  Around the corner, three rocket troopers became cannon fodder -- literally.  And while Williams then focused her attention on the geth Colossus at the far side, Jane picked up speed to take out two more troopers at the same time.  The momentum gained from that maneuver took her straight into the Colossus, and mixed with another cannon shot from Williams, it finally went down.  

“Nice job, Commander!” Williams crowed.

Jane chuckled and continued moving forward.  “Defensive driving skills put to their best effect,” she offered.

They wove their way through another long passage, around fallen debris and over large roots and clumps of foliage that had sprung up in fifty thousand years, taking out several more geth rocket troopers in the process.  Finally, as they topped a rise, they could see the Conduit ahead of them.

“That,” Williams gasped in astonishment, “that looks like that thing, that statue, back on the Presidium!”

“It looks like a miniature mass relay,” Alenko observed.

Garrus, leaning forward and staring out the window, grunted softly before musing, “You don’t suppose that links directly _to_ the Mass Relay monument on the Presidium, do you?”

Taking a deep breath, Jane shrugged.  “Wherever it takes us, we can expect resistance as soon as we get there,” she warned.  

“Actually, we’ve got it down below,” Alenko said.  He glanced up from his instruments and peered through the window.  “There.”  He pointed ahead, his hand moving back and forth from right to left.  “Colossi … four, maybe?”

“Shit,” Williams breathed.  “Commander, I had enough trouble with that one behind us.  I can’t take four out before we get to the relay!”

“We don’t have time,” Garrus added.  “I don’t see any sign of Saren down there -- he’s probably already on the Citadel.”

Cursing beneath her breath, Jane shoved the Mako into gear and started accelerating.  “Hold onto your hats, folks,” she warned, “this is going to be one hell of a bumpy ride!”

 

~ n ~

 

Travel via a mass relay was something Jane could say she’d never really noticed before.  Every time she’d traveled in past, it’d been while aboard a ship of some size.  She knew it was possible to travel in much smaller ships -- say fighter sized -- the same way, but never before had she done so.  She was left wondering if traveling the relays in a Mako was any better or worse than in a fighter.  

Their arrival came suddenly, violently and with a resounding crash.  From the moment the relay on Ilos yanked them into its pull, Jane lost all control of the vehicle.  Time either stood still or they were transported halfway across the galaxy so quickly there wasn’t any time for sound to be heard.

Upon their arrival, there was no opportunity for reaction.  The Mako was thrown with speed and force into the side of the Citadel Tower, dropping with a resounding thud onto the walkway below.  Jane watched it happen, _lived_ it, but even after they came to a halt she found she still couldn’t speak.  

For that matter, she couldn’t think clearly either, though the reason for that came soon enough.  Though she didn’t lose consciousness, it took her a few moments to recognize that they were at a standstill -- albeit upside down -- before reaching for her safety harness.  “Everyone,” she rasped, her body dropping to the roof once she was free, “alright?”

Soft groans, the sound of metal clasps breaking free, and eventually the others followed her lead.  Jane eased herself towards the exit.  It took some fiddling with the handle and eventually a couple of thrusts from booted feet against the door before it opened enough to allow her to exit.  

Her first clear observation as she rose to her feet, followed by Garrus, Alenko and then Williams, was that the Presidium was a mess.  Clear signs of battle were everywhere as well as blaring alarms, the sound of Avina attempting to evacuate the area, and the acrid smoky smell of weapons fire mixed with metal.  Using the Mako’s wheel carriage as a defensive barrier, Jane rose and stumbled over, peeking slowly around to see what they were facing.  At first it appeared the area might be clear.

“Commander,” Alenko whispered, moving to crouch beside her, his left arm turning so she could see his map of the area. Or, rather, the now familiar geth jamming signal.  “We’ve got company.”

Jane nodded and reached for her shotgun.  She glanced back at Garrus and Williams.  “Ready?”  They nodded.  “Williams stick with me.  Alenko, you and Garrus take the right side.”  She gestured a line along the railing in the center of the Presidium.

“On it,” they replied in unison.

Moving in tandem, they approached the lift leading up the Citadel Tower.  Surprisingly and despite the interference to their navigational systems, they didn’t run into any geth.  Their approach was not without complications, however.

“Husks!”

Williams cry was simultaneous with a shot from her sniper rifle over Jane’s shoulder.  Jane dropped to her knee to give the Chief room to fire while raising her own weapon.  Across the way, she saw Alenko and Garrus firing at a couple more.  The husks were down within seconds and they hurried on to the elevator.

Inside the lift, Jane turned towards Alenko.  “You have that disk Vigil gave us?”  He nodded, hand patting over a storage pouch at his waist.  “As soon as we get to the Council Chambers, I want to --”

They were thrown against the walls of the elevator as all movement ceased with such a suddenness, Jane could feel her legs buckling beneath her due to the sudden shifting of force.  Struggling back to her feet, Jane retrieved her weapon and offered Garrus a hand while Williams helped Alenko.  A quick surveillance of the control panel told Jane all she needed to know.  “Shit.  Saren’s locked the elevator!”

“Looks like we’re taking the long way around,” Garrus murmured, stepping forward.  Pointing to their left, he added, “Commander, we can still make it to the chambers, but we’ll need to go by foot.  I know some back paths -- routes we occasionally used for emergency purposes in C-Sec.  I know the way to go.”

Donning her helmet, Jane nodded.  The others followed suit.  “Everyone airtight?  Mag boots ready?”  Lifting her shotgun, she broke the window free of the elevator door.  “Lead on, Garrus.”

“This way.”

Saren clearly expected them and they ran into geth troops almost immediately.  Almost from the start, however, Jane made the decision to alter battle tactics.  Any shot or a biotic move that could knock one of the enemy’s booted feet free from the surface became as effective as a killing shot because it would send them hurtling through the open space within the closed arms of the Citadel, victims of the whim and will of zero gravity and making targeting much easier.  It was an effective technique for all, but especially where Saren’s krogan were concerned.  

The wove their way through the area, slowing only when they were nearing the exit of a long passageway.  “Commander, we need to be careful up ahead,” Garrus told her.  “There are several Citadel defense turret placements located across the area and they’ll most likely target us since Saren’s taken over control of the station.”

Jane peeked around the corner to survey the situation.  “Alright, you and Williams head that way -- plenty of cover there.  I want you focusing your sniper rifles on those turrets.  Alenko and I will keep the area clear for you.”  She glanced over at her fellow biotic and he nodded his understanding.  All they had to do was knock the geth just slightly off center and gravity -- or lack thereof, in this instance -- would do the rest.  

The battle that followed was fast and furious … and long.  Two turrets were down with two remaining when a geth dropship found them, unloading additional waves of troops.  Another followed close after.  Jane focused all her attention on keeping the geth as far from Williams and Garrus as possible.  She and Alenko split up, each dropping into a different depressed area to use as shelter while alternating between weapons and biotics attacks.  By the end of the second wave of reinforcements, Jane was beginning to wonder just how much longer she would be able to keep it up.  She’d already started seeing signs of strain from overclocking her amp, and numbness around the area of her implant started to take hold.

“That’s the last of them, Commander,” Williams announced, hurrying over to assist Jane from her hidey hole.  Garrus did the same for Alenko.  “The area’s now clear.”

Jane paused briefly to catch her breath, bending at her waist and resting her arms on her thighs while breathing deeply.  “Alenko, you okay?” she asked between breaths.

“I’ll make it, Commander,” he replied.  It wasn’t lost on Jane that he’d skirted around the direct question, but she couldn’t find the energy to challenge him any further.  Why would she?  She was going to do the same exact thing.  

She straightened a moment later, her eyes drifting over to Garrus and she opened her mouth to speak when Alenko shoved something into her hand.  Glancing down quickly, she recognized the energy bar and a half smile quirked at her lips.  Nodding her thanks at the LT she tucked it into a storage pouch for use once they were back inside and she could remove her helmet.  Turning back to Garrus, she asked, “Alright, where to next?”

“We aren’t too much further from an access port that will get us into the Council chambers, Commander,” the turian said.  “This way.”

 

~ n ~

 

“I swear to God, when this is over I’m going to have a few words with the Council on their defense protocols!” Jane muttered as she led the way through the access port leading to the chambers beyond.

A soft chuckle came across their comms -- Alenko, by the sounds of it -- but it was Williams who asked, “Something along the lines of ‘Don’t you EVER shoot at Commander Shepard again!’?”

“Access to all of the station’s security protocols come from one central location, Commander,” Garrus explained.

“I know that,” Jane snapped in irritation, “but where’s the brilliance in that?  That last set of turrets nearly wiped us _all_ out.  If we’d been able to access the system from another terminal -- even by some backdoor hacking program or something -- we would have stood a better chance and gotten here faster.”

Reaching the end of the ventilation shaft, Jane used her omni-blade to cut through the grate blocking their way.  She maneuvered her way through, dropping to the floor as silently as possible.  Once the others were through, she paused and removed her helmet.  Taking a quick moment, she devoured the energy bar Alenko had given her earlier – Lord knew she needed it now -- and then led the group forward.  

“Watch your step,” she murmured, gesturing Alenko and Garrus to take the left path this time while she and Williams took the right.  Fires were everywhere, soot and ash filling the air around them and making it a challenge to draw a deep breath.  

“Geth between us and the Council chamber,” Garrus called out in warning.   

The firefight that followed was, thankfully, short lived, but it ate up valuable time.  When the last geth was down, Jane signaled the other forward.  Hurrying up the stairs, she was prepared for more geth, but instead found Saren accessing the heretofore unknown console that Vigil had informed them of.  Or, at least Jane thought he was.  One moment he was there, the next he was gone.  Instincts screaming, Jane slid to a stop and waved the others off to the side to take cover.  “Watch yourselves,” she advised, peeking around the corner and wondering if it was worth the risk to try and creep forward and investigate the console.  “Saren’s still here somewhere --”

A rush of movement at the far end, behind the console, caught Jane’s attention.  Williams had followed behind Jane, but the commander now pushed the Chief back behind cover while lunging out of the way of the grenade that Saren tossed.  “I was afraid you wouldn’t make it in time, Shepard.”

“This guy really has an ego problem!” Williams muttered, arms covering her head as the grenade exploded, thankfully not too close by.

“Yeah,” Jane rasped, scooting herself back to the edge so she could peek around and see what the turian was up to.  To Saren she shouted, “Sorry if I kept you waiting -- had a few hundred of your loyal followers to wipe out along the way.”  Williams snickered softly.

Hovering over the edge on his platform, Saren simply ignored her.  “You do realize you’ve lost, don’t you?” he said.  “In a few minutes, Sovereign will have full command of the Citadel’s systems.  The relay will be unlocked and the Reapers will return.”

Jane snorted.  “That’s what you think.  I say I’m heading to that master control panel and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”  Bravado had its uses.  

“I’ve improved since Virmire, Shepard,” Saren said, though whether it was boasting or warning Jane couldn’t tell.  “You won’t get by me so easily this time.  Sovereign has … upgraded me.”

Jane sighed, eyes closing tightly for a moment.  “Are you insane?” she challenged.  “You actually _let_ Sovereign implant you?”

He started rambling on about his doubts and the resolve he gained by the implant, but Jane ignored him just then.  She peeked around the edge once more, her eyes on Saren, the console, and the distance between them.  Pulling back, she switched out her shotgun for a pistol, adjusted the mods, and pushed herself into a crouched position.

“Commander,” Williams hissed, her hand reaching out to grasp Jane’s shoulder, “what the hell are you doing?”

Jane shook herself free from the Chief’s hold and stood up moving out into the center of the aisle in plain sight.  “We can still stop this,” she said, her eyes finding Saren’s.  “Somewhere inside of you -- some part of you _must_ see how wrong this is!  Fight it, Saren!  Help me stop it from ever happening!”

Jane was by no means an expert when it came to reading turian body language.  She’d known a few over the years, and getting to know Garrus over these past few months certainly helped.  But Saren now appeared to be fighting against himself.  “Maybe … Maybe you’re right.  Maybe there’s still a chance ….”  He doubled over and for an instant, Jane thought he was falling off his flying platform.  But then he straightened again.  “It’s …  The implants.  Sovereign’s too strong.  I’m … sorry …”

Jane took a step towards him.  “It’s never too late,” she insisted, her hands lowered, gun aiming at the floor.  “You can still redeem yourself!”

“Goodbye, Shepard.  Thank you.”  Before Jane could move anymore towards him, Saren lifted his own pistol, pulling the trigger.  Jane winced, an instinctual reaction, and sighed while watching him fall over and crash through the glass floor to the space below.  

Sighing softly, Jane walked towards the console a moment later muttering, “What a waste.”  

Alenko joined her a moment later, handing over a data disk.  “Here’s the codes Vigil gave us, ma’am.”

“Thanks, LT.”  Jane inserted the information into the console.  It appeared to understand what to do with the data and after a moment, she saw a readout display.  “Vigil’s data file worked,” she announced.  “I’ve got control of the Citadel systems.   _All_ of them.”

“Quick,” Garrus advised, “open a communications channel.”

“We need to open the Citadel’s arms,” Williams insisted.  “Maybe the fleet can take down Sovereign before he tries to regain control of the station ...”

Jane pressed a few keys on the console, but before she could make any definitive decision on how to proceed, an urgent emergency call broke across their comms.

“ _... the Destiny Ascension.  Main drives offline.  Kinetic barriers down 40%.  The Council is on board.  I repeat, the Council is on board …_ ”

 


	36. Chapter 36

The minute the comm connection with his wife broke, John threw himself back sharply in the co-pilot seat, his hands rising to scrub at his face.  “Joker -- get us the hell out of here,” he muttered before lurching to his feet and stumbling off the bridge.  He had a job to do -- not exactly how he’d expected to help with this mission, but it was something.  He had to focus on that now.  Somehow.

“Already gone, Commander,” the pilot called after him.  His hands were moving rapidly over the haptic controls.  He hadn’t heard much but John’s end of the conversation, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on.  That plus the rapid exit of Sovereign were more than enough clues to get him going, and they were already entering the Mass Relay before John set foot in the CIC.

Fighting for composure, John strode through the CIC pausing only when he found Pressly in his usual spot near the galaxy map.  Blinking for a moment, he made a snap decision.  “I need your help, Pressly.”

Pressly straightened to attention, his focus centering on John immediately.  “Of course, Commander.”

It took John less than a minute to explain.  “Honestly, I don’t care _who_ we get, just so we get _some_ one going in there with us to back us up.  We’re going up against a Reaper and geth ships -- we need more firepower.  We need numbers.  I can work out more specific strategy after I know who and how many we’ll have on our side.”

“Understood, Commander,” Pressly assured him.  “I’ll contact Alliance Command right away.”

“Thanks.”  Stepping over to an open console, John pressed his comm for Liara.

“Yes, Commander?” the asari replied instantly.

“Liara, how close are you with Councilor Tevos?” he asked.

“I -- not very, I’m afraid,” she responded honestly.  “She knew my mother better, though she has always been polite and kind whenever we have spoken.”

“Do you think she would listen if you approached her about Saren?” John asked.  The hesitation at the other end was more than noticeable.  “I need an in with the Citadel, Liara.  Any kind of an in.  If Garrus was still aboard ship right now, I’d be asking him to do the same and contact Sparatus.”  He went on to explain what he knew of the situation and the orders Jane had given him.  “Hell, if _Kirrahe_ was on board, I’d ask him to contact Valern, and I think we both know how he feels about the salarian councillor after Virmire.”  The STG Captain’s opinions and views of the political leadership aboard the Citadel had slipped just a little too easily during their escape.  John suspected the man was too professional to have let that happen for reasons other than to warn them.  

“I -- I see your point, Commander,” she stammered after a moment.  “I will do my best.”  A moment later, they were disconnected.

John turned his attention first to sending a message to Ambassador Udina.  He didn’t much care for the man, especially after the difficulties he’d caused Jane in recent months, but he _was_ humanity’s representative on the Citadel.  If anyone was to approach the Council about what was happening, it would be him.  Assuming he actually _read_ the message and didn’t delete it because of who the sender was.  A second message, similar to the one to Udina’s but with much more blunt language that exemplified their personal friendship as well as professional, went off to Captain Anderson shortly afterwards.  The third contact John decided he would make in person.

Pushing back from the console, John turned towards Pressly.  “I’ll speak directly with Admiral Hackett.  He might just listen to me without disconnecting the call mid-sentence and charging me with having lost my mind.”  Turning away, he signalled one of the other communications officers.  “Get Admiral Hackett of Fifth Fleet in the comm room for me ASAP.”

“Yes, sir!”

Stepping up to the galaxy map, John made their destination official by setting the coordinates to the Citadel.  Only then did he leave the CIC.  

Inside the comm room, the vid screen was just starting to come into focus when John entered.  “Commander Shepard?”

John nodded as he jogged into view.  “Yes, Admiral,” he replied.  Then more bluntly, “Sir, I need your help.”

Hackett’s shrewd gaze surveyed the area, John noted, and then returned to him.  “Where’s your wife, John?  Last we heard, the _Normandy_ broke free from the Citadel and was on an unauthorized run to Ilos.  I was given to understand you’d both gone renegade.”

Taking a deep breath, John sent out a silent prayer.  “Yes, sir.  We are.  We did.  And now we’re heading back to the Citadel.”

Hackett frowned.  “Back?”

“Sir, it’s long and complicated and, hell, I’m not even sure _I_ understand it all, but the gist of it is that Saren’s about to sneak aboard the Citadel to let the Reapers -- that would be _plural_ , sir, not just Sovereign -- into the galaxy via a back door.  A back door that’s been right in front of us all along, Admiral, only we didn’t see it.”

Hackett stared at him in silence.

“Sir, look -- I know I sound like a raving lunatic right now, but I’m passing along what Jane just told me.  She found a prothean VI on Ilos.  That VI told her the Conduit is a back door of sorts leading between Ilos and the Citadel.  Saren is using that back door to get aboard the station right now.  If I correctly understood what Jane said, the protheans didn’t have time to actually stop the Reapers during their era, but they did make it so the Reapers couldn’t automatically come back during ours.  Jane and her team are going after Saren -- following him through that back door I mentioned onto the Citadel.  She asked me to bring the _Normandy_ and show up to help defend the Citadel against the geth fleet and the _one_ Reaper that _is_ here right now -- Sovereign.”  Taking a deep breath, John straightened and rolled his shoulders back.  “Sir, that’s all I know for certain at this point.  The rest you’ll have to get from Jane later.”

Behind the admiral, John saw another bridge officer approach, datapad in hand.  The admiral turned away for a moment, read the message, then turned his attention back to John.  “How certain are you of your information, Commander?” he asked.

_Good question_.  “As certain as I can be under the circumstances, Admiral,” John told him honestly.  “I know Jane believes it.  Enough that she’s willing to risk her career -- her life -- if necessary.  And frankly, sir, if she believes it, then I have no recourse but to do the same.”  ‘ _In for a penny, in for a pound,’ as the old saying goes._  

Hackett inhaled deeply.  “Commander, we just received word of an emergency broadcast directly from the Citadel fleet.  Alliance Command has ordered us to the Serpent Nebula to assist in the defense of the station.”  His eyes met John’s.  “I’ll see you there, Commander.”

Relief washed through John in a rush.  “How close are you, sir?”  

Hackett’s eyes veered to John’s left briefly.  “We should arrive about an hour before you, Commander.  Hackett out.”

Ignoring the blatantly obvious -- that the admiral had not only known of their ‘escape’ but current location as well -- John nearly sagged with relief.  They would have _some_ sort of back up going into this, and from the sounds of it the Citadel fleet would be too involved in their own defense when they arrived to try to stop them.  That was something, at least.

Exiting the comm room, he returned to the bridge for a brief moment.  “Joker, how much longer?”

“You paying the speeding ticket?” the pilot quipped.  When John scowled, Joker half turned in his chair.  “Sir, I’ve got us flying as fast as I can.  Best I can guess is six more hours.  I’m pushing the envelope as it is, sir.”

“Let me know when you’re jumping the Relay,” John ordered.  Turning, he stalked through the CIC and down the stairs.  It was time to formulate a battle plan.

 

~ n ~

 

For the sake of time and resources, John called the others to meet at Liara’s office.  By the time Wrex joined them, he and Liara had a visual display nearly ready.  Glancing over at the doorway as the krogan came lumbering in, he asked, “Where’s Tali?”

Wrex shrugged.  “She was right behind me,” he replied.

“Commander?”  

John turned back to Liara who pointed at the display.  “See if you can pull the numbers from surveillance when we were above Ilos,” he told her.

The doors opened again and Tali rushed inside.  “Sorry I’m late, Commander,” she announced a little breathlessly.  “I received an encrypted ‘information dump,’ I think you call it?”  Her head swiveled towards him and John nodded.  “It was from the Commander on Ilos.  The vid feed of their meeting with Vigil.”

Blinking in surprise, John asked, “Can you set it up so we all can watch it?”

The quarian nodded, reaching to press a couple of buttons at her wrist.  A moment later, it started to play.  “The reception is rather fuzzy, and there is some breakage in the flow of conversation,” she explained, “but I cleaned it up as best I could.”

For the next few minutes, John watched as the conversation played out.  He could see Jane interacting with the VI and Williams and Garrus to one side, so it must have been Alenko who recorded it.   _Figures.  Why hasn’t he been promoted higher than lieutenant yet?_

“Those traitorous little pyjacks,” Wrex rumbled as the VI explained the true nature and purpose of the keepers on the Citadel.  

John hushed him with a wave of his hand.  Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Liara reaching for a datapad, typing furiously as the playback continued.  Notes would, hopefully, help.

When the vid faded off as it concluded, John stood for a long moment rubbing his fingers along his jaw and chin.  

“Do you really think the Commander can stop the Reapers from coming back from dark space?” Tali asked.

“She’ll sure as hell give it her best try,” John replied automatically.  If there was _any_ thing he knew about his wife, it was that.

Wrex rumbled a laugh.  “It’ll be bad enough against one Reaper, let alone a whole fleet of them.”

“Can we get past Sovereign and the geth and land on the Citadel?” Liara asked, worry clear in her tone.

“That is a good question,” John replied.  Sighing, his hand moved to run through his hair and down the back of his head.  “Though, it won’t be for lack of trying, I can assure you of that.”

Liara frowned.  “Commander, are you aware that the Citadel can close?  The arms containing the Wards fold inwards, coming together to form a sort of … cone shape, I guess?”  She used her hands to demonstrate.  “If it does that, there will be no way to access it from the outside.  Not until it opens again.”

Wrex grunted his agreement.  “And it’s probably a safe bet Saren knows that.”

Liara nodded.  “And if he does, then Sovereign likely does too.”

“In which case,” Tali interjected, “Sovereign and the geth will probably use blockade techniques to protect themselves and the Citadel and keep us from getting in close enough to land.”

John sighed again.  “No other way in from the outside?” he echoed.

Liara shook her head this time.  “None of which I am aware, no.”

Grimacing, John replied, “Well, we’ll form our plan of attack on the off chance it is open,” he told them, pointing to the display he and Liara had pulled together.  “And if it isn’t, we’ll adjust accordingly.  Whatever ends up happening, we’re going to be facing off against a Reaper, so we’d better have something ready to go once we arrive.”

 


	37. Chapter 37

“You’re worried about something.”  Hannah Shepard’s eyes carefully tracked her son’s agitated movements through the vid connection with knowing eyes.  “Or some _one_.”

John paused and turned to face his mother.  He didn’t say anything to counter her words -- she knew him better than that.  “Where are you and the _Kilimanjaro_ right now?” he asked instead.

“In transit,” she replied.  “We have orders to reposition.”  

It was a response and didn’t completely skirt the question as it was asked, but John noticed.  His lips quirked a little at the left corner.  “To the Serpent Nebula, by any chance?”  His was more a statement of fact, of _certainty_ , than a question.

But true to her military nature and training, Hannah gave nothing away.  “John, what’s going on?”

Sighing, he ran a hand over his face.  “You’ll be coming face to face with a Reaper, Mom,” he explained.  “A sentient being from dark space that wants to destroy all life in the galaxy as we know it.”  Over the next few minutes, he proceeded to explain everything they knew about Sovereign, Saren and what was happening at the Citadel.  “This isn’t going to be easy,” he concluded.

Hannah was silent for a time, but John knew better than to interrupt.  She was processing everything he’d told her, making decisions on how to best approach the situation.  She might only be XO at the moment, but John knew her commanding officer valued her opinions on things.  “We might not make it in time,” she told him, breaking the silence.  “We’re still over an hour away.”

“Chances are the battle will be a long one,” he told her, “and there will be casualties.  This is unlike anything we’ve ever faced before, but from everything we’ve discovered so far, we’ll either find a way to destroy it and stop the invasion now, or we’ll be facing the Reapers for a very long time to come.”   _God help us then_.  He started pacing and prowling around the room again.

Hannah, eyes sharp as ever even through the vid screen, murmured, “Where’s Jane, John?”

John snorted, but didn’t look at her.  “Where else but right in the thick of it,” he  muttered.  “As usual.”

“Ah.”  

John glanced over at her, noticed the look in her eyes and sighed again.  She saw too damned much too easily!  

“Are you upset she is leading the way, like when you were at Elysium?” Hannah asked.

“No.”  His response was immediate.  Definitive.  He shook his head with added emphasis.  “As Spectre, she has to be the one.  I get that.  I accept it.  Hell, I’m proud as hell of her because of it.  But that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about her.”

Hannah chuckled.  “You do have some of your father in you after all,” she mused.

John scowled.  For years she’d teased him that all he inherited was his father’s good looks.  “Because I worry?”  

Apparently, the teasing wasn’t going to stop.  Perhaps that was just as well.  “In part,” she replied.  “Look, what it boils down to is this:  Do you trust Jane?”

John blinked.  “Absolutely.”

“Then trust she can handle herself, that she and her team will do whatever is necessary from their side of things.  That in the end, she will come out on the other side of this the better and stronger for it,” Hannah advised.  “She always has before.  Why should that change now?”

“I’ve always had her back before,” he retorted in irritation, the truth of it finally spoken aloud.  “When it mattered most, I was there to help.”

“Were you now?” Hannah challenged.  “I seem to recall stories of Elysium where she left you behind because you were injured in order to complete the mission objective.  And tell me, just how many N7 missions have you two been sent on together over the years since?”

“Mom, you’re missing the point --” he started to protest.

She shook her head.  “No, _you_ are, son.  Remember, this isn’t London.  You aren’t eighteen.”  She paused a moment and John watched her features soften.  Years later, he realized she really _had_ forgiven him for going after Jane.  “John, I understand you are worried.  It’s only natural.  She’s a wonderful person and your wife.  None of us wants anything to happen to her.  But Jane is more than capable of handling this.  Like you, she comes from a military tradition.  She knows how to go about getting the job done.  Don’t worry about her, focus on your side of the mission.”  The elder Shepard paused again, hand running through short blonde waves and tucking a few strands behind one ear.  “And from what you’ve told me, your part in this is just as vital.  She can stop Saren, but who’s to say that will stop this Sovereign you mentioned?  To defeat this threat it will be a team mission.”

“I know.”  John’s hands grasped the back of the chair as he leaned heavily against it.  He’d known it all along, all these years, but this was the first time he had really had to fully face the challenge of them both serving on the front lines together.  How had his parents survived it?  How had hers?  

John’s head dropped to his chest, eyes closing tightly before he spoke again.  “We’re going to lose people, Mom,” he warned her again.  “This thing … I can’t even begin to put into words --”

Hannah smiled softly, her head tilting slightly in the process.  “I know, John,” she replied gently.  “We all know the risk when we take the Oath, remember?  We’re prepared for that.  Just do like you always do -- the very best you can, and then a little extra.  It will do.”  She sighed.  “It will have to.”

The silence that followed was broken as Joker’s voice came across the comms.  “ _Commander, we’re about fifteen minutes from arrival at the Serpent Nebula._ ”

“Got it, Joker.  On my way.”  John glanced over at his mother one last time while reaching to disconnect the call.  “Be careful,” he told her.

“You too, John.  I’ll see you on the other side.”

 

~ n ~

 

John had barely set foot on the bridge when Joker half turned in his chair and called him over.  “Commander, I just picked up a distress call from the _Destiny Ascension_.  Sounds like they’re in the thick of it -- that Sovereign’s really causing some havoc out there.”

Frowning, John stepped up behind the pilot to scan the feeds on his display.  “So take us through the relay,” he said.  “We can run interference for them and --”

“I can’t -- the relay is locked from _their_ side of things,” Joker explained.  “Admiral Hackett and the fleet just messaged they’re in the same boat -- almost everyone’s here, but because we don’t have an invitation to the party, the door’s been slammed in our face!”

John reached to activate his comm and switched to a private channel he and Jane used.  He didn’t know if it would reach her from this distance, but if it did, maybe she’d have some ideas.  “Jane?  Are you there?  Jane, can you hear me?”

Small bursts of static crossed the line as it struggled to connect, but eventually a thin, reedy thread vaguely resembling his wife’s voice made it through.  “ _I’m here, John._ ”

“We’re almost there, baby,” he promised, “and I’ve got one hell of a reception party put together for you, but we’ve run into a little problem.”

A soft snort echoed across the line.  “ _You forgot your key again, didn’t you?_ ”

John groaned softly at her humor.  Lord, he really loved this woman!  “Jane, do you have access to the station yet?  Can you somehow open up the relays to let us --”

“Commander,” Joker interrupted, “it’s open now.  Hang on!”

“ _John, the Destiny Ascension is in trouble -- they’ve got the Council on board, too._ ”

John’s eyes lifted to watch as they entered the Serpent Nebula to an ongoing battle.  “Shit!  Evasive maneuvers!” he shouted while reaching to press a button to alert the rest of the ship.  Even as he spoke, Joker was already deftly weaving their way through.  “I know, Jane.  We heard the distress call.”

“ _Save the Ascension, John_ ,” she told him.  “ _No matter what the cost._ ”

“Understood.”  John didn’t debate her decision and reached out to switched comm channels.  She was Spectre, the decision was hers.  “Admiral, I’ve spoken to Jane.  The _Ascension_ is in trouble and the Council is aboard.  We’re to save her at all costs.”

“ _Understood, Commander_.”

As the Admiral broadcasted the order to the rest of the fleet, John switched channels back to his wife.  “How’s it going down there?  We can land and bring in ground support if you need --”

“ _I think we’re good, John_ ,” she replied.  “ _I just need to check on one thing first._ ”

“What about Saren and the geth?”

Jane sighed.  “ _Down for the count,_ ” she insisted.  “ _In fact, I’m about to double check that right now._ ”

Surprisingly, she kept the line between them open, an unusual move on her part, but one John couldn’t complain about.  While directing Joker and the _Normandy_ ’s crew during the battle, he could hear Jane speaking to Williams, Alenko and Garrus from their end.  It sounded as if everyone was fine.  A relief, all things considered.

“Tell the _Ascension_ they’re in the clear,” John advised Joker after several minutes of intense ship to ship battle.  “And watch out for those geth ships!”

“ _The Citadel is opening!_ ” Hackett’s voice broke across.  “ _All ships move in -- concentrate on Sovereign!_ ”

With the arms to the station now giving adequate access, John directed Joker to lead the way in.  A number of the larger Alliance ships followed.  Once Joker looped once around the area where Sovereign was attached, the other ships started firing.  The Reaper fought back -- which was to be expected -- and a sharp ache sliced through John’s chest at the sight of one of the larger Alliance ships as it was destroyed as easily as if swatting at a fly, but he kept his focus on the plan.  Dropping into the co-pilot’s seat, he continued giving orders as he brought the _Normandy_ ’s weapons to bear on it.

“ _Sovereign’s too strong!_ ” one of the other ship commanders announced over the fleet comm line.  “ _We have to pull back!_ ”

John reached for the button to countermand that order, but Admiral Hackett beat him to it.  “ _Negative.  This is our only chance!  Take that monster down, no matter the cost!_ ”

“Uh, Commander?  Do you see what I see?” Joker asked after several more minutes of flying.

John’s gaze returned to the display to find what looked to be reddish electrical charges coursing throughout the body of the Reaper.  “Watch out,” he advised as he noticed Sovereign’s body pulling away from its grasp.  “We don’t want to get hit by that thing.”

“You don’t have to tell me that twice,” the pilot muttered.

John glanced at the technical readouts on his display panel again.  “Admiral, Sovereign’s shields are down.  Now’s our chance to hit that thing with all we’ve got!”

“ _Agreed, Commander.  Everyone, bring all weapons to bear on Sovereign now!_ ”

“Joker, take us in,” John ordered.  “Let’s take this thing out once and for all!”

“Aye aye, Commander!”

In the background, even as he assisted Joker from the bridge, John heard his wife curse in his ear, “ _Ah, shit!_ ”  In that moment, his heart dropped heavily into his stomach.

 

 


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew!  Whirling in with an update after a whirlwind of a weekend with the kiddo graduating high school!  Glad I had this written ahead of time!
> 
> For those following the ShepShep series, last week I started a new collection of shorts when John and Jane are young, roughly covering the years they were aboard the SSV Einstein together.  That story is called Destiny’s Foundation, if you are interested.  It will focus on the (go figure!) foundation years of their relationship.
> 
> In the meantime, two more chapters after this.  Just about time to move these two on to the next phase!

 

 

Jane stared down at the broken and lifeless body of the former Spectre.  A part of her felt sorrow, but it was only a small part.  “Make sure he’s dead,” she ordered.  If her tone was sharper than usual, it was with good reason.  After everything they’d gone through trying to stop him, they had to be sure it was done.  Looks could be deceiving, after all.

Garrus and Williams both reacted at the same time, dropping to the lower room to investigate.  Alenko paused before following, asking, “You okay, Commander?”

Jane bit back a sigh and nodded.  “Yeah, LT, I’ll be fine.  Just … It’s such a waste.”  

Williams, now standing where Saren fell, pulled out her pistol, aimed at his head, and released a shot at close range.  After a moment of watching his form remain still, she announced, “He’s gone, Commander.  There’s no way he could --”

An unexpected quaking in the floor beneath them, reverberating throughout the entire Council chamber for that matter, shook them and their surroundings.  Bright flashes of red static or electrical like streaks permeated the air at the same time.  Jane followed the flashed, her eyes drawn to Saren’s body where the bolts appeared to be collecting.  Her eyes widened slightly as his body pulled upright …

… just as the floor beneath her gave out and she fell.

Jane rolled as her body made impact, pushing herself to her feet as quickly as possible and swallowing back a groan of aching protest.  She scanned the room, spotting the others struggling back up to their feet.  Williams, still the closest to Saren’s body, retrieved her weapon, though Jane spotted the familiar biotic glow surrounding Alenko’s arm as he cautiously approached.  Jane returned her gaze to Saren and was able to determine that something -- or in this case, some _one_ \-- had taken over control of the body.  The dead turian was now moving as if fully alive and breathing once more.  It didn’t take a genius to figure out the _who_ behind it all.  

“Ah, shit!” she cursed, her own hand flaring as she reached for her shotgun with the other.  

“ _I am Sovereign and this station is MINE!_ ” a disembodied voice echoed around them with authority.

There was a flurry of movement, followed by Williams demanding, “Where’d it go?”

“Ceiling.”  Alenko’s tight but quick response had the entire team looking upwards.  

Jane spotted the Sovereign-Saren creature hopping around like one of the geth hoppers they sometimes faced out in the field.  

“Watch out,” Garrus called out, “he’s got highly reinforced shields!”

Jane moved quickly, pressing a button on her omnitool and launching an Overload tech attack in the creature’s direction.  Alenko did the same, she noticed, but surprisingly both attacks, even combined, did little to slow the thing down.  And then it jumped across the room, covering the great distance with a speed that was indescribable and landing directly in front of Williams.  

“Chief,” Jane shouted, “watch out!”  In the same moment, she launched a biotic Throw at it, managing to cause some degree of separation between it and Williams even if for just a second.  It was enough to give the Chief time to duck and roll out of immediate harm’s way.

The battle that ensued took on a frantic and frenetic quality.  A mixture of tech, biotic and weapons attacks finally began to wear it down, but it was time consuming and incredibly dangerous.  “If you can’t find cover,” Jane advised, “keep moving!  Don’t let it corner you!”  The problem was, there was very little cover to be hand in this particular anteroom.  

Still, when the Sovereign-Saren creature finally went down for good, a quick glance at the chronometer on her omnitool left Jane surprised to find a good thirty minutes had gone by since the battle began.  The _thing_ disintegrated, disappearing into the air around them as if it hadn’t ever been there to begin with.  Sighing, Jane bent over at her waist for a moment, resting her hands on her thighs and drawing in several deep breaths.  “Everyone okay?” she asked.

“Just … peachy,” Williams heaved as she, too, struggled to catch her breath.

“Fine,” Alenko replied.  He moved quickly, stepping over to the Chief and initiating a medical scan from his omnitool.

“Garrus?” Jane looked up and asked.

“I’m good, Commander,” the turian replied slowly.  

Straightening, Jane stretched and put away her shotgun for the moment.  Offering Garrus a hand, he took it and she helped him to his feet.  “Alright,” Jane said after a moment, “let’s head back up.  We might have defeated Sovereign here, but I want to make sure he doesn’t infiltrate the Citadel systems again.”

“I have a thought on that, ma’am,” Alenko told her as they ascended back to the main chamber.  

“As do I,” Garrus interjected.

Jane chuckled softly and shook her head.  “This is what I get for bringing a bunch of tech-heads along, isn’t it?  Professional pique?”  She winked at them and gestured to the master console up ahead.  “Go ahead.  I’m not afraid to admit you both probably have an advantage over my skills.”

The sound of breaking glass and tearing metal from above caught Jane’s attention in the next moment, however, and instead of allowing the men past, she automatically reached out to shove them in a direction _away_ from the console.  “Look out!” she shouted and then everything went black.

 

~ n ~

 

_“JANE!”_

Working his way through the aftermath of an embattled Citadel registered little to John.  All that mattered was the NOW.  Of finding their way to the Council chambers.  Of searching for his wife and her squad.  Nothing else was more important than finding them.  Not how Joker managed to find a serviceable enough landing point.  Not how John, Wrex, Tali and Liara hurriedly boarded the station, the wrap up of the battle still going on around them.  Not how they somehow managed to stumble upon Anderson and a group of Alliance SAR personnel on a similar mission.  John had no memory of the how, only the overwhelming urgency of doing.  

Scans from aboard the _Normandy_ indicated there were some life signs present in the Council chambers -- living, breathing life forms.  The only worrying point was they only counted three instead of four.  Shoving that to the back of his mind, John brought all his focus to bear on placing one foot in front of the other.  Of getting from Point A -- the landing zone -- to Point B -- the Council Chambers.

Time was difficult to judge in such situations.  It could have been mere minutes or hours later before John led his squad into the Council chambers, Anderson and the Alliance personnel following close behind.  The signs of battle here were much more widespread than in any other area through which they’d passed.  The degree of destruction left John winded.  Tali made some sort of fluttering noise -- perhaps it was the filters in her suit, John wasn’t sure.  Liara’s gasp echoed around them.  Even Wrex, hardened and seasoned battlemaster that he was, grunted in dismay.

John took a step forward into the chamber proper only to be stopped by the weight of a hand at his shoulder.  Turning, he found Anderson shaking his head even while gesturing the SAR team forward.  “Let them do their job, son,” he murmured.  “They’ll find them.  Give them a minute.”  The pressure of his hand at John’s shoulder was the only reminder to the commander that Anderson outranked him.

“Captain,” Tali interjected a moment later after lifting her arm and fiddling with her omnitool.  She pointed across the room.  “Have them check over there.  I’m getting a stronger signal beneath that debris pile.”

Anderson relayed the message and a few short minutes later, shouts could be heard.  Pulling free from Anderson, John rushed forward with the rest of his squad close behind.  It took some careful maneuvering and manipulation of obstacles, but after a while and from beneath the pile of twisted metal and glass came the slow stirrings of life.  John moved over to assist, Wrex following beside him.  Liara used her biotics to help leverage a large beam up and out of the way to give them access.  

Anderson ducked through the opening they made, followed close behind with a couple of other specialists.  John was left holding his breath.  Carefully and after some minutes, they extracted Alenko, Williams and Garrus, assisting them from the wreckage.

John’s gaze was glued to the debris pile for a long minute after the last of them exited, even when it was evident that everyone had been pulled from it.  Swallowing tightly, he turned.  The expressions on the three rescued companions’ faces were more a testament to Jane’s fate than a verbal response to any questions John might have asked.  Again, his stomach lurched, but he refused to give up.  Not yet.  She was N7 trained like he was.  They both knew tricks that could get them in and out of situations like this that others, including Alliance soldiers, couldn’t handle.

“Where did you last see her?” John demanded.

Williams shook her head wearily, unwilling or unable to meet his gaze.  Garrus winced, his mandibles twitching awkwardly, before he, too, looked away.  Only Alenko, stiff and awkward as he rose to his feet, lifted an arm to point to the far side of the room … right beneath the large window where part of Sovereign’s fuselage had broken through after its destruction.

Squaring his shoulders, John reached out to clasp Wrex’s shoulder with a firm grip.  “Come on,” he told the krogan.  Wrex nodded once, firmly.  Anderson started to protest, but John simply ignored him and pushed on.  He _had_ to do this.  

It was a scramble, that was the only way he could describe it.  The piles of rubble here were larger, unstable, and more than once John almost lost his footing.  At one point he did, sliding down a rough edged slab of wall or flooring, caught only at the last minute and yanked back topside by the krogan.  “Watch your step,” was all Wrex muttered, but John acknowledged it with a solemn nod.  

Still with no sense of time other than it was taking an ungodly amount of it to cross such a short distance, John called out in irritation and frustration, “Tali?”  

There was a moment of quiet, followed by a simple, “Nothing, Commander.  I’m sorry.”

John pointedly ignored the skipping beat of his pulse.

“Commander,” Anderson called to him, “let the SAR team do their job.  They’ll find her and they won’t break their necks while doing it!”

Again, John opted to ignore the words, this time about as close to a direct order as they could be without actually being one.  He’d likely catch hell from Anderson personally later for disregarding it, but John didn’t care.

“You were at Elysium,” Wrex rumbled.  “What did you do then?”

John barked an incredibly short and painful laugh.  The tightness in his chest rose higher, grasping and clawing at his throat now and making it difficult to speak.  “I was injured,” he admitted.  “I wasn’t part of it.  It was all … her.”    

The room seemed to shift for a moment, and John’s gaze was drawn to his right.  Instead of the Council chamber, he saw the streets of Elysium, battle torn but finally free, and in the distance, stumbling towards him with the assistance of a medic …

Blinking rapidly, John cleared his vision.  This wasn’t Elysium and there was no medic assisting her, but sure enough, limping awkwardly and carefully, he caught glimpse of an armored figure about fifty feet away slowly working her way over another slab of debris.  His left hand immediately darted out, making contact with the krogan’s arm and catching his attention.  Wrex grunted softly a moment later.

“Jane?”  John’s voice escaped as a nearly inaudible croak, but he saw her pause, head turning in his direction.  He noticed a streak of blood oozing along her left cheek, a large jagged crack in her armor across her chest piece just below her throat, but in her eyes and on her lips was the smile he’d been hoping for since departing the _Normandy_.

Lurching awkwardly, John started towards her while Wrex called back behind them.  When he neared, Jane grimaced and that was when John caught the glint of pain behind her green eyes, too.  Immediately, his eyes dropped to the crack in her armor, now much more visible with his proximity.  “Shit!”  He turned, cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting, “We need a medic!”

“John, no.”  Her voice was pained as well.  “It’s not that … It’s my shoulder.  Again.”

John’s eyes surveyed her quickly and saw she was cradling her arm to her chest and side.  “Alenko!” he shouted.

“Right here, Commander,” the LT called.  He’d managed to approach from a different angle in the room which brought upm closer to Jane.

John blinked.  “How the hell did you get -- never mind.  She’s dislocated her arm,” he explained.  

“Again,” Jane added.

“Same as on Edolus?” Alenko asked.

Jane nodded.  “I almost caught myself, but it pulled free …”

The LT chuckled softly while reaching for the pack at his hip.  “I’ve got something I can strap it with, ma’am.  Hold tight.”

She glanced over at John as Alenko began to work, good as his word.  Green eyes meet blue and she asked her husband, “All’s good?”

For the first time in what felt like days, John managed a smile.  The tension was still there, tight and fisted into a ball that stretched from his gut through his chest that would likely not go away anytime soon, but it was easing just enough that he could breathe easier.  “You stopped him, baby, and we did the rest,” he assured him.  “The Reapers won’t be crashing this party anytime soon.”

Jane groaned, a hissed grunt escaping when Alenko tightened the strapping and secured it.  “Thanks, LT,” she rasped before accepting his help to cross over to her husband.  

“We’ll get Dr. Chakwas to give it a proper look once we’re aboard the _Normandy_ ,” Alenko told her, “but the scan seemed to indicate it wasn’t as severe as the last time.”

Jane sighed.  “That’s a relief.”  She reached her good hand out to John in the next moment, jumping across the debris and coming to a stop beside him.  “Can we get out of here now?”

Moving into position to protect her injured arm, John brushed a quick press of his lips to her temple before nodding.  “Let’s go.”


	39. Chapter 39

Sitting with his arms folded across his chest and head tilted back resting against the wall, John’s eyes remained tightly shut, but he was conscious and aware of what was happening around him.  Alenko snickered softly beside him, but John ignored his friend.  How many times in past had they sat like this in the mess, drinking strong coffee instead of the beer they both would have preferred and while recovering from a rough mission?  And what just transpired at the Citadel certainly qualified as a ‘rough  mission.’

_Too damn many times_.  

“You do realize just because you deny it doesn’t make it any less --”

“Give it up, LT,” Williams warned, dropping into one of the seats across from them.  She had her own cup of coffee as well.  “You know the Skipper’s not going to believe us.  We could get Vakarian up here, too, and he’d still say we’re making it up.”

“You did make it up,” John muttered, eyes still closed.  “I know for a fact Jane would never allow --”

“She didn’t _allow_ ,” Williams interjected.  “Not really.  She said -- how was it she said it?”  She glanced over at Alenko.

“ _This is what I get for bringing along a bunch of tech-heads, isn’t it?  Professional pique,_ ” Alenko repeated word for word.  He shrugged.  “If that wasn’t permission, I don’t know what was.”

Williams nodded, sipping at her drink.  “But then she said something about not arguing with them and they probably had the advantage over her, or something.”

“I still don’t believe you,” John insisted.  Heaving a loud sigh, he sat up straighter, pulling his head from the wall and reaching for his mug as his eyes opened.  “Jane’s tech abilities --”

“Are awesome,” Alenko interjected immediately, cutting him off.  “We aren’t saying they aren’t.”  He shrugged again.  “It’s a moot point anyway.  Just seconds after that the walls came crumbling down, as they say.”

Williams winced, her hand reaching for the ache at her lower back that hadn’t quite faded as yet.  She’d taken a particularly nasty hit there during the destruction of the Council chambers, but Doctor Chakwas had assured her it would fade with no permanent damage left behind.  

“How did you guys even get to the Citadel from Ilos?” John asked.

“Mini Mass Relay,” Alenko replied.

Williams nodded.  “Skipper, you should have seen it!  The Commander raced us past four Colossi to get us to the relay.  It was like something out of --”

John blinked, uncertain if he’d heard her correctly.  One Colossus was bad enough, but …  “Four?” he echoed.

The Chief nodded and held up fingers to match.  “Four.”

“We took a couple of hits,” Alenko added, “but thankfully the Commander was pretty lead footed through that trench and our shields held.”

John snorted and hid the rest of his amusement behind another drink from his mug.  His wife’s attitude towards driving was better suited to a battlefield than civilian quarters anyway.  “And that got you to the Presidium how?”

Williams chuckled, murmuring, “I never would have guessed that a piece of artwork could be an actual live relay.”

“I told you it always made my teeth tingle,” Alenko reminded her.

“That statue thing on the Presidium?”  John frowned over at him.  “Seriously?”

Alenko nodded.  “Yeah.  It made some sort of low resonating humming noise whenever we past it.  You never noticed?”  He shrugged.  “Well, no one else ever seemed to either, I guess, but I could _feel_ it.”

“And I just thought it was a piece of art,” Williams repeated.  “Who knew.”

Shaking his head, John tilted his head thoughtfully.  “And it’s really a mass relay.  Still working?”

“You know, that’s a good question,” Alenko replied while leaning forward.  “All Vigil told us was that it was completely separate from the mass relay network, connecting only between the Citadel and Ilos.”

“Also that it’s a one way ticket,” Williams added.  “You can’t go backwards.  If we want to go back to Ilos, we’ve got to go the old fashioned way.”

“Interesting.”  

Behind him, John heard the lift come to a halt and several sets of steps exit.  He wasn’t surprised when Tali, Wrex and Garrus sat down at the table with them just moments later.  “Coffee’s hot,” John announced, tipping his mug towards them in silent salute before taking a sip.

Only Wrex seemed interested in the offer, lumbering over to get himself some while Tali and Garrus both sat.  “Where’s the Commander?” Tali asked.

John grimaced and his mug hit the table with a bit louder thud than it might have normally.  “Currently in a meeting with the Council, Captain Anderson and Ambassador Udina,” he told them.  

“Ouch!”  Williams’ comment had several of the others nodding in reaction.

“I sent Liara over to see if she could keep an eye on things, but last I heard she wasn’t being given access to them,” he added.

“Council ought to be thanking us for saving their lousy hides,” Wrex muttered.

Garrus shook his head.  “I’m not so sure,” he said.  “They might have a hard time getting past the fact we broke free from their custody.  And if Captain Anderson’s with her …”  

“They wouldn’t dare!” Williams gasped at the reality of Garrus’ suggestion hit her.  Her eyes darted over to John’s.  “Would they, Skipper?”

John shrugged.  “I honestly don’t know.  I’m sure Udina will have some input into what happens, though.”  A soft snicker escaped Alenko, catching John’s attention.  Glancing at him, he asked, “Something you want to add, LT?”

“Did you see Udina when we landed?”  He was only greeted with confused looks and silence.  Reaching a hand up, he rubbed an area of his jaw near his chin in a very obvious manner.  “Didn’t you notice the slight discoloration he had right about here?  As if …”

Williams was the first to catch on, eyes widening as full comprehension hit.  “As if his face had met some sort of … resistance?”

Wrex’s laughter began to rumble around them.  All things considered, it was a comforting sound.  “Like Anderson’s fist, maybe?”  The krogan grinned.  “Anderson’s got a pair,” he concluded with a firm nod.

Caught off guard by the line of reasoning, even as he thought back to the meeting after the conclusion of the battle, John couldn’t hold back a snort of amusement.  Nodding his agreement with Wrex and the others, he added, “I’ll be damned.  He said he’d take care of it, and he did at that.”

“I guess he did,” Garrus concluded, nodding his own appreciation.  His mandibles fluttered for a moment in amusement, but concern soon returned.  “Then again, what could happen to him because of that?”

“Oh, he’ll pay, big time,” Jane announced matter of factly as she entered the room.  When the others turned towards her, she winked.  “I made him the first human councilor.”

“Commander!”  

Voices crying out in unison, Jane managed a weary smile as she walked over to join them.  Dropping into the empty seat beside Garrus, she glanced over at her husband eyes pointedly marking the mug in his hand.  John, used to his wife’s not so subtle ways of requesting tea, nodded and rose.  It was the least he could do anyway.  After all, she’d just saved the Citadel and perhaps the galaxy from destruction.

“You did what?” Williams asked, eyes wide.

“The first human councilor, huh?”  Wrex nodded twice.  “Good choice.”

“I can’t imagine Captain Anderson appreciates it,” Alenko offered.

Jane smirked.  “He doesn’t,” she replied.  “Not really, but he’ll do it.”  She sighed heavily.  “The only alternative was Udina.  And, while the man might understand politics better, I’m not so sure that’s in humanity’s best interests at the moment with the Reapers still out there.”  She had no doubt that if one had come to try to find a way back that others would try in future.  

Liara arrived and joined them as the others made room for her to sit.  “I think Councilor Tevos appreciates your choice,” the asari observed quietly.

Jane grinned over at her.  “No love lost between her and Udina, is there?”

Liara smiled, laughing softly.  “No, none that I’ve ever witnessed.”

“I would imagine Councilor Sparatus will appreciate Anderson’s military background,” Garrus added.  

Jane gratefully accepted the mug of tea John set on the table and wrapped her hands around it.  “He said as much to me before I left,” she agreed.  “And surprisingly, even Councilor Valern appeared … appreciative, though I don’t know if that’s because of me saving his life or choosing Anderson over Udina.”  She shrugged.  “That’s Anderson’s ballpark now.  I’m just a lowly Spectre.”  She gave them all a quick, conspiratorial wink.

“So, they didn’t strip you of your office after our jail break?  Good,” John stated, returning to his seat.

“Are you kidding?” Jane challenged.  “Who else are they going to send out to mop up the rest of the geth problem out there?”

Several of the others groaned -- Jane caught Tali’s voice first, followed by Williams and Garrus.  “No rest for the wicked, hmm?” Williams asked.

Jane lifted a brow as she a careful and deliberate sip of her drink.  “Did I say that, Chief?”  All eyes turned to her and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.  “We’ve got two weeks leave before we head back out,” she told them.  “The _Normandy_ will get a thorough inspection as well.  By the time they’re done we should be back and then we’ll be off again.”  She looked at each person before adding, “I realize some of you may have duties that take you off in other directions, but I hope you’ll consider staying on until we’ve seen this mission completely through.”

“If you’re still chasing the geth,” Tali spoke up first, “then you’ll need your geth expert along, I suppose.  My pilgrimage will end when Saren’s geth are no longer a problem.”

Jane grinned at the quarian.  “I was hoping you’d say that.”

“Last I checked,” Alenko broke in while glancing over at Williams who nodded, “we haven’t been cut new orders yet.”

Jane winced.  “Actually, LT, you have,” she announced.  “It’ll likely take a day or so to come down the official chain of command, but Councilor Anderson mentioned having you help him -- at least for the immediate future.  Something about acting as his liaison for the cleanup of Reaper and geth tech on the Citadel?”

Alenko nodded and at first Jane thought he might be upset, but then she caught just a hint of a smile on his lips.  Leaning across the table just a little, she added quietly, “And if you get the lowdown on what actually happened between Udina and Anderson, you’re under official Spectre orders to share.  Got that?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Alenko agreed, unsuccessfully hiding a grin.  

“I really should be moving on,” Wrex announced as a room full of laughter died down a minute or two later.

Jane met her husband’s eyes before they both turned towards the krogan.  “I understand,” Jane told him.  “I’ll be sorry to lose you, Wrex.  You’re pretty damned good to have along in a fight.”

Wrex chortled.  “Don’t worry, Commander,” he told her, “you won’t be running into me on the other side of things.  Someone’s got to start wrangling the krogan into realizing there’s better ways to get what we want.”  He gave her a sage nod.  “I figure I’m the best chance of making them see that.”

Jane nodded, biting back laughter until her eyes met the amused look in her husband’s.  “I have no doubt you’ll succeed,” she replied.

“I would like to stay, if that’s alright?” Liara interjected.  

There was still hesitancy in her tone, but Jane could honestly say the young asari had come a long way since their first meeting.  “We’ll be glad to have your expertise,” Jane replied.  “And who knows, maybe we can find more prothean artifacts along the way.”

“That just leaves you, Garrus,” John said.  

“Well,” the turian started slowly as his gaze settled first on John and then on Jane, “I was thinking.  If Anderson and the Lieutenant are going to be heading up the cleanup on the Citadel, they’ll need a contact within C-Sec to help them around any … what is it you humans call it?  Green tape?”

Jane snickered softly, noting that the other humans in the group did the same.  “Red, Garrus,” she told him.  “Red tape.  And I think that’s a marvelous idea.”

Sitting back in her seat, she eyed each individual for a moment.  “I will admit, I’m sorry to see us parting this way,” she told them quietly, “but I am grateful beyond words for all the help you’ve provided.  We couldn’t have done this without you.”

From across the length of the table, Williams turned away, muttering, “You’re not going to get all mushy on us, are you, Commander?”

Jane shook her head, but took a moment to swallow past a growing tightness in her throat.  “Nope,” she rasped after a moment.  “No mushiness.”

“In fact,” John said, speaking up while Jane ducked her head and swiped at her eyes with her fingers, “I suggest we look forward.  How about some sort of reunion?  On this date, next year.”

“Where?” Wrex asked.

“Citadel,” Alenko replied.  “It’s a central point for all of us no matter what we’re doing or where.”

“Just … not at _Chora’s Den_ ,” Tali begged, shuddering just a little.

“What about _Flux_?” Garrus suggested.  

“I thought I heard they suffered severe damage during the battle,” Liara replied.

“I’m sure between now and then another club or two will sprout up,” Williams interjected.  “We can leave the specifics until later.”

Wrex was the first to nod.  “Count me in.”

“Me too,” Tali and Liara both chorused.

“Well, unless Alliance Command sends me back off to the far ends of the galaxy --” Williams started.

Jane interrupted her with a dark glower and growl.  “They. Wouldn’t. _DARE_!”

Williams grinned at her.  “Well, when you put it _that_ way …  Count me in, too.”

“And me,” Alenko agreed.  He glanced over at the turian who nodded.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Jane nodded back at all of them.  “Okay, we’re in, too,” she told them while looking at her husband.  After he nodded, she added, “And the first round of drinks is on us.  If that’s not incentive enough to get you all to show up, I don’t know what is!”

“ _Uh, Commander, I hope you’re not counting the rest of us out?_ ” Joker’s voice drifted in across the comms.

Chuckling, Jane’s response was immediate.  “Depends on if you continue listening in on my conversations without being invited, Flight Lieutenant.”

“ _Right.  Just wanted to give you the heads up that Command wants us to put into port at Arcturus for inspection, ma’am.  We’re to leave here within the hour._ ”

Sighing, Jane looked at the others.  There was reluctance as they stood, an unwillingness to part company.  “Noted.  Thanks, Joker.”

Rising to her feet after them, Jane grabbed her mug and hustled over to the galley to rinse it out.  She watched as the rest moved off, each with their own agendas to focus on now, and she was a bit surprised by how much it actually ached to see them go this time.  Never before had it bothered her quite so much.

 


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So hard to believe we’ve finally made it to the end of Destiny’s Road!  It’s been a bit of a challenge getting here, but we’ve made it!  I intend to follow this story through to the end of the Mass Effect trilogy, and wherever else it might take me, so no worries there.  Keep an eye out for Destiny’s Hand, the next installment.  I’m not sure exactly when that will start up -- I’ve started working on the preliminary chapters, but nothing set in stone just yet.  In the meantime, keep an eye out for additions to the collection of stories I have going.  Destiny’s Foundation, Where Destiny Leads, and possibly Tag Teamed.  I promise, the wait for Destiny’s Hand won’t be too long, hopefully within a month to six weeks or so.  
> 
> In the meantime, thank you all for reading and commenting!  I’m so glad this story  has gone over so well!  Never fear, ShepShep still has plenty more story to tell!

 

 

“Two weeks leave?”

Having moved inside their cabin after the others’ departures, Jane chuckled when her husband joined her.  “Two whole weeks,” she agreed.  “Is that a problem?”

“No,” he hastily assured her.  “Well, not if you don’t look at our track record for shore leave ….”

Sighing, she tossed a disgruntled look in his direction.  Surreptitiously, she reached for her pillow nearby.  “You _had_ to bring that up, didn’t you?”

John snorted softly.  Crossing the room, his hands slipped around her hips and pulled her close for a hug.  “You know as well as I do that --”

Jane shook her head once, firmly.  Bringing the pillow up, she hit the side of his head and shoulder with it, laughing softly as he brushed it away easily.  Dropping it a moment later, she slid both arms up and around his shoulders, easing into his arms.  “Don’t even say it, John.  Seriously, I’m warning you.  Besides, this isn’t _shore leave_ as much as it is a _vacation_.”  She sighed softly.  “And Lord knows we’ve earned that break after this mission!”

John frowned down at her for a moment.  “There’s a difference?”

She nodded with emphasis.  “Shore leave requires an outside destination.  Reservations, touristy type things.  Eating out, cameras and getting lost while visiting historical sites and museums.   _Vacation_ is at our apartment on Arcturus.  No outside destinations.  Ordering in pizza and beer and staying up all night to catch up on movies and or just snuggle.  Maybe spending a day or two at the combat simulators challenging any and all comers, but nothing that qualifies as ‘duty.’  No --”

Laughing, John lifted her close for a tight hug.  “I like the way you think,” he agreed, kissing her briefly before setting her back on her feet.

Jane grinned up at him.  “That’s why they made me Spectre, isn’t it?”

John winced in an over exaggerated manner.  “Ouch!”

Rolling her eyes, Jane stepped back from him.  “Seriously, though, Anderson let it slip they’re thinking of adding another human Spectre.”  She moved around him in the direction of their storage space.  

“Oh?”  John watched as she retrieved their N7 duffle bags.  Taking his from her, he asked, “Did he say who they had in mind?  After watching what you’ve gone through, I can think of one or two who might fit the bill.”  Both were N7 trained, but he was beginning to think that anyone taking on a Spectre position for humankind might need that kind of training in order to survive.

Jane paused in the process of pulling out clothing, her eyes trailing back over to him.  “He didn’t _say_ in so many words, but if I understood the hints he gave, it sounded like you were at the top of the list.”  She kept her eyes on him as she set them inside her bag.  “What do you think about that?”

Caught off guard, he froze in place for a long moment, bag dangling from fingers that had gone numb.  “Me?”

Jane nodded.  “Why does this surprise you?  Anderson knows our strengths and can tell yours apart from mine.  So can Hackett.”

“And our weaknesses,” he interjected.

“Which didn’t stop them from choosing me,” she responded immediately.  “And with the success of this mission, and the fact you were involved with it, too, I’d think we could build an even stronger case for you to join the ranks.”  She could think of a few other reasons Command might want to keep it ‘in house’ rather than branch out, but she wasn’t a conspiracy theorist.  Not until she had proof one way or another.

Again he was silent for a moment.  “Why don’t we just wait and see what happens,” he finally replied.  “While I would be foolish to decline such an offer, I still have my doubts that I’m at the top of their list.”

A soft beep from across the room drew their attention.  Frowning, John asked, “What was that?”

Jane stepped over to the computer and pressed a button.  “Oh shit!”  Dropping into the seat, she started typing furiously with her good hand.

“Jane, what’s going on?”

“Nothing.  Just something I forgot to do.”

Curiosity now getting the upper hand, John left his packing and moved over beside her.  From over her shoulder, he caught a few words here and there but it wasn’t enough to recognize what she was doing.  “Jane?”

She was intensely focused on the screen in front of her and didn’t reply for a minute or two.  “There,” she finally stated, hitting one last key before rising to her feet.  “Whew!  That would have been embarrassing!”

His frown returned.  “What would have?”  

Sighing, Jane gave him a sheepish grin.  “I had three messages ready to send out should things not … work out well for us with Saren and Sovereign.  They were to go to Mom, Anderson and Hackett.  In all the craziness that came after the battle ended, I almost forgot to cancel the automatic send.  Now that’s done.”

“Automatic send?”  Staring down at his wife, John could see the faint hint of pink flushing her cheeks.  She really was embarrassed about something.  But what?   _Automatic send …._  It took a minute or two, but finally hit him like the proverbial smack to the head.  “You were prepared to take the fall for all of this,” he observed.

Her cheeks darkened a little.  “I was in charge of this mission, wasn’t I?” she challenged defensively.

“Not to the point of destroying your career!”  He dropped to sit on the edge of the bed as the weight of what she’d been prepared to do hit him fully.  “Jane --”

“Don’t.”  Lifting her hand, she placed two fingers across his lips to silence him.  “I was prepared to do what I had to do to get the job done.  End of story.  I wasn’t about to take you, the _Normandy_ ’s crew, your family, Anderson or Hackett with me if I could help it.  The decision was mine as Specter.”  When still he tried to protest, she shook her head.  “It was my call, John, and mine alone.”

“You were following orders!”

Jane snorted.  “Yeah, honey, the Council told me to fight my way out of their custody on the Citadel to go chase down a rogue Spectre who has been causing all of the problems across the galaxy of late through an area of space where the Council fears to tread.”  She winked at him.  “Man, the press would _love_ that.”  Seating herself on his lap, she added, “And we both know how it would’ve played out.  It’s okay.  We got the job done.  That’s the important thing.”

John sighed, shaking his head.  “No it isn’t,” he muttered, reluctant to give in so easily.

Jane chuckled and poked him lightly in his chest.  “Yes it is, and you know it.  We bought some time, if not found a permanent solution.”

John caught her hand in his.  “You don’t think this ended it?” he asked.

Chewing on her lower lip, Jane stared up at him for a long moment, her head slowly moving back and forth.  “Don’t ask me why, but I’m almost positive it didn’t,” she clarified.  “There was something in the way Saren spoke … and Sovereign.  We might have succeeded for now, but they sounded so … assured that a Reaper invasion would happen.”  She sighed again before leaning towards him.  “We’re going to have our work cut out for us in future.”

Wrapping his arm around her, he murmured, “All the more reason to have a good break now before we head back out.  If we’re going to have to face this again ….”  Helping his wife to her feet, John told her, “Come on.  I can’t pack alone, you know.”

Rolling her eyes, Jane nodded but said nothing.  She couldn’t really explain it, and she’d tried.  At least to Anderson.  Someone had to know.  Someone who would be at a level high enough to do something when the time came.  Anderson had been quick to point out he’d need solid proof from her to convince the rest of the Council.  There would be a second point to their mission once they returned from leave, but Jane didn’t mind.  It was all a part of the job, after all.  What was that quote she’d read so long ago?   _A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it._  Well, she hadn’t asked for all of this, but she had proved she was willing to meet the challenge.  Destiny, it seemed, had chosen her path for her.  

 

 


End file.
